Catatonic Blow (Yu-Gi-Oh! Seto Kaiba x OC)
by tiedyehippie
Summary: The story takes place 4 years after Dark Side of Dimensions. Please immerse yourself in my Yu-Gi-Oh! verse of absolute chaos, card games, precious love scenes and silly times. This will be a long one, so buckle your seat belt, love!
1. Prologue: Welcome Home

The pharaoh's realm in the afterlife was nothing like the grim stigma that death seemed to bring when it knocked at the door. If this is what Hell looked like, Seto was ready to sign a contract to sell his soul to whatever God would take it so he could stay there. Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn't do that. He had a whole other world to control - to keep under his thumb so he could rule it.

Under the Egyptian sun, sitting within the Palace oasis, Seto sat under a terrace - in silence. The golden sun was seeping through his satin turtle neck. Fingers gracing his skin with little sighs of happiness against his spine. He wasn't one to sit beneath the blaring sun, but he made a certain exception as he sat in the center garden. When he spent the countless hours within the garden laced with pools of Nile water lilies and the array of pottery that held flowers from distant lands - he did not feel the heat nor did he feel a chill. The smell of jasmine and burning sands took him to a place he hadn't really felt before. A relaxed heaven of white light in his mind that actually made it **purely silent** for once.

With arms intertwined in a knot over his chest, Seto leaned against a table with eyes closed. He was enjoying the subtle hum that his mind made when there wasn't voices yelling at him in a million directions. For about the twentieth time that unknown day, Seto sighed through his entire body, releasing whatever his body was keeping that was deemed bad to create more room for the good.

Seto then groaned some, as he rolled his neck against the tender warmth that was building in the place between his stiff shoulders and limp neck. He was beginning to think that he could sit there forever and a day, til he heard a shuffle beside him that disrupted his thoughts. Opening his eyes, he peered over his shoulder to find Atem settling himself in the opposite chair holding what seemed to be a cup of tea. Atem huffed lightly as he let his body melt with the seat he fell into, and it wasn't til Atem took the first sip of his tea that he realized Seto was looking at him.

Looking over his cup, the steam ever slightly rising in the desert air, he grinned at Seto. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Seto gave a sarcastic roll of his eyes as he looked away from Atem, gazing towards the rolling desert that laid so endlessly beyond the Palace walls. Within the beyond, laid a golden castle so grand he wondered what he would have to do to get into a place like that. Heat waves made it dance in his eyes and he had to squint ever so slightly to get it to stand still, just so he could make out the ornate rounded roofs and pillars of gems. "I wasn't sleeping."

Atem then hummed as if he was to hear what Seto had proclaimed and he placed his cup of tea on the stone table. "Enjoying the quiet then?"

Biting his lip as the word 'quiet' created a light filled void deep within his mind, Seto swallowed against the eternal bliss that built in his bones all the while he was sitting in his chair. He cleared his throat quickly and looked away from the desert back to Atem who was smiling ever so slightly. "If you knew me like you claim, you would know the answer to that question."

Atem chuckled at the snarky remark and shook his head. He knew the answer, that was definitely certain. Reaching for his cup of tea, Atem allowed the harmony that Seto relished in to return slowly as Seto traveled back to that place of wonder in his mind.

* * *

_Seto's Life-points: 450  
Atem's Life-points: 600_

**"You're so predictable, Kaiba!"**

Echoing throughout the temple, the gold pharaohs voice bellowed deep into the shadows that hung between the burning torches. Atem's growing smirk curled into something vicious that began to spew laughter of joy. "So predictable it will be the end of you."

In the rush of his blood rolling from his heart into his fingertips, Atem revealed his downward Magic Card that would enhance his Dark Magicians power tenfold. Making his Dark Magician unstoppable and Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragon a measly pawn of destruction would only cause Seto's life-points to drop to zero in the process.

Atem's chest heaved with pride and the prize of winning flashed before his eyes. **_"Dark Magician! End this!"_**

An aura rich for an envious king enveloped the Dark Magician and when revealed in the purple light that shone from the end of his staff, the Dark Magician's own smirk filled his attack as he lunged forward to attack Blue Eyes.

Much to the dismay that was headed his way, Seto's hung head hid his eyes from the Dark Magician, who was shifting across the dueling field and ready to end a Blue Eyes screeching in defense.

But his head was not hung in defeat, _oh no_.

Suddenly, Atem felt the pride drain from his body as he noticed Seto's shoulders beginning to shake. Atem cursed himself as Seto threw his head back in manic laughter that only came when Seto wasn't done spilling blood.

"You're not the only predictable one, Atem!" Seto purred as the mania took over his face and created a twisted sneer that gave Atem chills. **_"I have been waiting this moment!"_**

Seto threw his whole body into the reveal of his face down card. A downwards Trap Card that attached a deathly plague to those that crossed it, engulfed Dark Magician, making that strong mage cough death's blood-curdling cry.

"Enjoy your Magician choking to death!" The euphoria that filled Seto as he watched the Magician deteriorate before him, made Seto's voice shake in rare happiness. His seething demons and their nasty claws made Seto stand tall as they sent ice cold shivers up his spine, driving him to throw a fist out in victory and slap the air with its thrust. "Also draining all of your life points in the process!"

Atem grimaced against the feeling of defeat, as he watched his Dark Magician throw himself towards certain death. A dark cloud that beckoned the call of Hade's blessings, crept towards Atem as Dark Magician took its final attack. Before the poison took him, Atem watched his weakened Magician and a Blue Eyes come together in a hurdle, only to burst into nothingness.

_Seto's Life-points: 0  
Atem's Life-points: 0_

Within the space and time, in an afterlife that bent the reality of sorrowful truths and deplorable lies, the two stared at each other in the dim lit darkness. Nothing stood between them except dissipating pride and a wallow of onset self-pity. The silence that forced time to come to a still, echoed the sharp pops of fire that spewed from the hearths around them.

Atem was the first to pull his eyes away, clenching a fist behind him so he could push against his spine just to disrupt the feelings of disaster. It wasn't until he let his fingers roll out of the grip on his invisible crown of games, that he let an upturned scowl come to him. "A tie... How am I not surprised after you broke into the afterlife to duel me...?"

Still stunned, Seto felt rage fall away. The air around him hummed in his ears with a nauseating ring. The space in his mind between regret and fear started to fill with a chemical that hardly graced him with its presence. Those dark ropes of his past that held him down, finally slithered away allowing him to take a breath of freedom.

"Kaiba, you know you're a duelist just as great as me. Why go chasing fantasies?" Atem's voice echoed softly, bouncing off the sandstone walls until it disappeared into just a thought.

What was the answer? Something selfish, of course. Something that his pride didn't want to admit. Something that a teen storming through life would never come to terms with because the world was his and his alone. Yet, what the voices were telling Seto could mean a release from all the demons telling him he was worthless. That it was no longer something to fight against. Maybe it didn't need to be his – it just needed to be true for him to let that crown fall out of reach.

"I wanted to be certain..." An infrequent chuckle escaped from Seto, as he hung his head away from all the uncertainties and settling reality.

There was something different in the air. It made Atem shake his head with a couple of tearing blinks. There was a calm sea in front of him. It was no longer a storm that fumed in an anger caused by past and present memories of betrayal. "Take it as a victory then. That you proved to yourself that you're just as great as I am..." Atem smiled at the truth, "Have some closure, Kaiba."

Seto nodded, lifting himself once more into a proud stance, but rolling his shoulders away from the anxieties that clung to his neck and strangled him on the daily. "Maybe I will..."

* * *

Time had slipped into dawn, where light breezes blew in from the deserts and created a comfortable chill that weaved around Seto's bangs and settled on his forehead. In the deepening skies above, little bright light fairies came out to play. They gravitated towards one another, crashing together into one just to burst into many more, scattering along the desert and into the atmosphere. Seto ran a soft hand through his bangs, grazing his fingertips over the cooled skin, while his deep concentration was on the Duel Monster cards lying about on the table. A wince traveled up his throat but got caught by his lips, and turned into a scowl. Atem and Seto strategized between the two of them. Throwing random moves at each other and seeing how the other would react - and Seto was at a loss. Seto's eyes shifted frantically from his hand, to the cards on the table and back to his hand. The answers he was demanding in his head were not coming to him in neon lights. He was about to grunt in frustration when he drew a new card and it gave answers to him he was longing for in the pits of his stomach.

The new grunt Seto put forth in satisfaction, caused Atem to look up from his hand and watch Seto play his move out without words. The brimming fairies and their many splashing colors, lit up the cards when they crashed, creating Seto's play a show of the greats. Atem watched it dance in front of him methodically as Seto brought down two of Atem's monsters and negated the lying down trap card that Atem was hiding on the field. Atem's mouth fluttered open and he went to sigh, but it got caught in his throat. Instead, he sucked in his bottom lip and lightly pounded his fist against the edge of the table. "Damn... Impressive..."

As Atem's eyes replayed the move in his memory, Seto took the time to celebrate to himself. Throwing his hands up in the air ever so slightly, Seto started to rock with his waist and bit his lower lip in the process.

When Atem huffed in a tiny defeat and looked up with eyes sunken, he did a double take, catching Seto dancing to himself. A tiny glare furrowed into his brow, "Oh, don't gloat so soon!"

Seto danced a tiny bit more, knowing it was annoying Atem in the process, until he threw his fists to the side and finished the silent victory. The sun finally settled behind the dunes of gold and the torches around them began to glow upon their table enough for them to see. Seto chuckled to himself as Atem then proclaimed he was going to do something better and Seto had better prepare for it.

This is what they had - a friendship that challenged the other to do better and greater things than before. That is why Seto did what he had to, to have one more moment of it but without his usual denial. Seto didn't get to say goodbye. He didn't get his chance to make sure, for certain, there wasn't something he was missing.

Now, Seto could accept it. He could stop obsessing about a dead pharaoh who was better than he was. He didn't have to chase fantasies and shadows that Atem told him he was going after blindly.

They were equals. They were friends. The best of friends.

Flickering around them, sprites spit from the fire and swayed in the darkness warming the light between the two of them. Seto watched Atem from across the table, but within his heart, was close enough to see what exactly he was doing. It was then, with a clench of his jaw and a sudden dread of realization, that Seto knew he did not belong there any longer.

He found what he was looking for - he found the happiness he's always wanted. The sweet peace that would grace his heart and release him from the torture he ensued day by day.

Through the clenched jaw, Seto breathed out unsteady. He placed his hand of cards onto the table and Atem looked up from his play to see Seto lean back in his chair as if the world had stopped for him. "I have to go..."

That's all Seto had to say within palace walls to make them grow cold. Atem was dreading the moment he would no longer have the company of a friend, but he knew it was coming. Over the time Seto had sat around in the afterlife with him, he could see Seto changing and soon there would be nothing keeping Seto in his realm. Atem's posture fell as the words hit his ears and he placed his own hand on the table. "I was starting to wonder when you were going to leave. You've been here for quite a while," His eyes then traveled back to the figure that was slouching in his chair and Atem threw him a soft regard of reassurance. "I didn't know how much longer you'd sit here and stare into the desert as if you're searching for something."

Seto's eyes met Atem's and he shook his head, "I found what I was searching for. I just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet as long as I could."

Atem nodded with a smile and said nothing in response. There were no words for him to find anyhow.

Without another word or even a whisper to the shadows that glimmered in between the moon beams and starlit children, the two bodies broke from their statues to make their way towards the temple. Wandering down squared hallways and spiritless rooms, the torches lit their steps but darkened behind them as if giving in to the inevitable loneliness that would come suit as one would leave the other alone for the eternity he chose to keep. The temple was consumed with a darkness that brought a stagnant pale air as the large doors slowly opened for them when they reached their destination. A single step into the abysmal depth where the Gods could hear every forced hush and curse, the scattered hearths puffed in flames, emitting a warmth that was much needed.

Two ghosts, the once great grandson of Horus and the abused Trillionair, shuffled their feet in the awkward silence that the Gods were reading through with their smirks. Atem watched Seto closely, holding onto the last bits of Seto's company he had left. Chains were wrapping around his chest, and as much as Atem was a master of breaking free of those weighing pains, this time they just kept building. Atem took a deep inhale in hopes to break the chains that were heavy against his heart but as he was going to let it all out, Seto breathed out harshly and threw a look at Atem signaling the worst.

"You'll come back?" Atem's voice echoed in the hall.

The question of time burned Seto's ears. When exactly would it happen? He wasn't very sure. For a millisecond, Seto furrowed his brows and looked into the darkness with question shaping his face in a light worry. He breathed out through nose and finally shrugged sluggishly. "When I further the creation of the VR to make it more steady," The half-assed answer wasn't very certain of itself just like Seto. The shadows could feel it as they skittered away from the glowing flames the hearths threw onto the ground, "I'd also like to harness the power of that weird cube some more…" All the same, there was truth in Seto's words.

"You've changed."

"Pardon?" Seto tore his fixated gaze upon the hearths back to Atem.

"You changed… from the time you've barged into the afterlife demanding a duel… to now." Atem's voice was the sincerest it had been. It reached out and gripped Seto's heart, making his chest burn in a questioning stillness. "You seem at peace."

"Maybe I am." Seto stared blankly.

"Good, it worked then…" Atem grinned. "Safe travels, Kaiba. Until next time…"

Without much thought, Seto turned towards the large stone doors in the wide-open temple he first entered through when all he felt was confusion and deceit. Now it didn't feel like he was running away from anything. He was ready to return to a place, in the new light he possessed. After some steps that echoed through the hall, Seto stared into a blinding white light that led to a place he could finally call home.

Watching him go, all Atem could do was let the beam of content be known. He was proud of his friend. He was happy that there was less turmoil in him that caused him dithering pain. Atem wondered how Seto's life would pan out now. Would he return to being the hard-ass trillionair? Would he find solace in the days to come? Atem took a deep breath to strengthen his wishes and watched them flitter into the world as he breathed out. As Seto approached the doors more closely, Atem finally turned away, letting his friend leave peacefully.

"Atem," Seto's voice cracked as he called out behind Atem. Atem twisted back as he was ascending the stairs into his gardens of heaven, trying to return to the afterlife of tranquility. Standing in the large doorway, blinding light surrounding his very being, Atem could see the brilliant smile that Seto gave him. "Thank you."

No second longer, Seto was gone.

* * *

Back on Earth, a place where most wouldn't like to be, Domino City was just fine that day. Moving through the notions of the norm, nothing was suspected to be any different. Mokuba sat in his office, reading over some drab report that he didn't really care much about, but he told himself he had to read it anyways. He leaned back in his desk chair, making it swivel on the hinges, so that he was suspended on an angle and his feet were no longer on the ground. As he shifted into a more comfortable position, he felt sleep whispering in his ears and he was tempted to follow it, until his secretary burst through his office door giving him a fright.

"Becca! What the fuck?! Why didn't you knock?!" The young Kaiba had developed a mouth pretty foul, but twas to be suspected as time grew him into ages were hormones took over and the general 'Fuck this! Fuck that!' attitude settled in.

As he jumped, causing his chair to buckle below him, his poor secretary Becca jumped in unison when she realized her mistake. Under the darker tones of her cheeks, the embarrassment rushed forward making her warm and created a light blush hardly noticeable. She began to fidget uncontrollably and she took hold of a small locket of coarse natural hair so she could twirl it around her finger. "I'm sorry, Mokuba, but-bu-but!"

"But what?!" Mokuba wasn't one to get angry quick. In fact, he had a saint-like threshold and him snapping at her would be shocking to anyone who could hear. Under the special circumstance however, being startled was not his strong suit. It was no wonder he acted the way he did, with wide eyes and a mouth fallen to the floor.

When Mokuba cut her off from her obvious stuttering, a shiver ran down Becca's spine. She had heard rumors of the oldest Kaiba having a temper but never thought that Mokuba could have it in his bones. Just this once, she could see the Kaiba anger in his eyes and it did not sparkle her pretty. Looking to the floor unpleasantly, her shoulders fell and felt the need to cower into the farthest corner. "The light is on, sir... It's green..."

It was then when Mokuba's worlds crumbled around him and he returned to the child he once was. The startled anger drained from his eyes and he placed the report down onto his desk. "He's back..."

* * *

_"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba." _

The waves of dreary headaches and eternal sleep pulled Seto in and out as his eyes tried to focus on the metal plated ceiling. The pounding against his temples made little white stars dance in his vision and as the synthetic light hit those ocean blues, he squeezed them shut as it pierced his skull with a sledgehammer. "_Take it easy getting up. It will be a long process to begin with, so there is no need to rush it." _There was the women robotically speaking with a British accent once again. It was tantalizing and smoothing to his senses that seemed screwed and deteriorated.

"Mother fu-." The poison vat inside Seto was drowning his stomach and filling his lungs with heavy lead. The aches against his weakened scalp were setting him in a motion that was making him sick. He could taste the acid deep in his throat and it was so dry Seto's voice cracked under pressure and he coughed something horrid.

_"Like I said, there is no need to rush the waking up process. You should rest and let yourself regain some strength."_

Her voice was coming at him in all directions. Bouncing off the metal walls and causing his ears to reverberate. Bringing his hands up to cover his eyes, he felt a light tug on his low forearm and a sharp sensation against his muscle. While wincing in a light pain, his eyes shot open to focus on an IV protruding from his arm and invading his skin with the contents of a clear liquid meth that was usually for the dying. Staring in disbelief, he began to pick at the IV with his limp fingers. The invasion it was causing on his mind was making it run off in a thousand directions and he couldn't tell which screaming voice was the right one to listen to. Peeling the medical tape gently from his arm, twitching his eye in the process as the skin was slightly being lifted from the adhesive, Seto heard a couple of light beeps in the background.

The mechanical voice hummed, letting shivers rise in the plates of his spine. _"You're heart rate is rising... Is there something wrong? Do you feel pain anywhere?"_ The melancholy ticking of her tongue that followed her concern let Seto pull the rest of the tape off his arm and sigh that the restriction was free.

Seto opened his mouth to speak, only to have his voice get caught against the rocks that built up in the barren deserts that formed in his throat. Trying to clear his throat as he removed the IV slowly from his arm, it instantly turned into a raging cough making his whole body thrash in the motions. Seto's torso curled inside itself as his insides lurched out of their respected spots and slammed back into place with a horrible rud. Groaning a curse or two, Seto threw the IV aside and let his body curve back into the pod letting his body melt with the cool metal. "Who are you?" His voice worked it's way through the stones but crackled in every way possible as they tumbled when he spoke.

_"You can call me Airlie. I am the AI system your brother had placed inside the spaceship to watch over your health while you were... away."_

Nothing she said made sense to him. With a needle no longer digging into his body and tearing at his muscle, Seto finally brought his hands over his eyes and rubbed them clear of the foggy discrepancies with stiff fingers. "AI system... I didn't need an AI system to watch me… I was gone for a week." Or that's what Seto thought it was. He counted 7 nights. Letting his hands fall from his face, the single movement alone made him feel woozy and sleep beckoned him loudly as his hands created a loud thud against the pod as they fell away.

Airlie, this new AI system that he did not create, hummed a tune that he did not like. It caused him to search the metal cabin for a single sign of her importance, but found only a singular darkness that was pushed away by the glow from his VR pod. Seto tried to pull himself up on the side of the vessel, but his spine wretched itself against the seat causing Seto to breath out a silent gasp of agony.

_"On the contraire, Mr. Kaiba, it was very important that I watch over your forced torpor state."_

"Tro-tropor state?!" There was no time to think against the frantic panic that filled him. Only time to react in a way of flight, trying to get away from the terror that came with such knowledge. Seto threw himself upwards, in the fear that filled every curve of his body and he felt the venom of his stomach travel upwards, almost completely discharging through his mouth and all over his lap.

_"Please be careful, Mr. Kaiba."_

"Tell me right now why I was in forced into hibernation, this instant!" It couldn't be happening. Seto didn't want to listen to the way his body cried and the weeping anxiety that told him he made a rotten error.

There was hesitation in the air, but Airlie cleared her nonexistent throat before saying the one thing that could make Seto's world fall apart at the seams and reveal a Hell he wasn't ready to come back to. _"I'm sorry to tell you like this, Mr. Kaiba, but you were not gone for a mere week... You were gone for two years."_

Seto's weakened heart fell through the cavities in his chest, exploded out and fell upon the metaphorical floor. He couldn't breathe against the loss of two years. It was making the screaming voices always telling him he was wrong, that for once they were right. He fucked up. Make them stop. It was a lie. "Two years...?"

_"I'm very sorry..."_

Forcing the mysterious liquid in his stomach down and trying really hard to not hurt himself in the process, Seto threw himself out of his pod and attempted to stand on his feet. The gravity of the universe only continued to tell him things he didn't want to hear. He thrashed against the faintness in his body and planted his feet against the cold metal floor. "I need to get out of here."

_"Mr. Kaiba, please. I advise that you don't-."_

"Shut up!" Every notion in him, screamed out loudly and in doing so, made Seto fold through the waist. Beginning to walk, or attempting to, Seto tripped over himself towards the large elevator doors, trying to regain a balance that floated away from him as he laid waste in the VR pod all alone for two years. "I need to see my brother..."

He tried so hard, but still slipped over his fumbling feet, falling onto his hands with a crushing thud. There was a sound of pity that floated through the room and it made Seto's spine fold downwards, wanting to crash into the metal floor, only to kill him in the process for how useless he had become. With the clicking of her tongue, Airlie controlled the spacecraft to eject a robotic mechanical arm out from the wall beside him. _"Hold still..."_

A sudden tiny stab of cold metallic discomfort entered his shivering arm, one that could hardly hold him off the floor. Seto threw his head over to see the remaining seconds of this robot pricking him with a syringe of whatever god send medicine he did not authorize to receive. "Excuse you!" He spat and used that anger to get him back to his feet, throwing himself towards the wall so he could use it as leverage to stay upright.

_"No, shut up."_ Seto's spine crashed against the metal wall and he gasped at both the murderous death that wanted to take him and her nonchalant retort. _"You will thank me for that later."_

Seto breathed heavily against the pounding nervousness that was taking his breath away by drowning him. He stared into the nonreflective grounds of his space station, finding nothing but an emptiness that was starting to consume him. There were only the small orange LED security lights that glowed amidst the dark matter of the atmosphere, which decided to leak into his space while his mind was in a paradise, that turned out to be no good for him but just as blissfully peaceful.

Did Mokuba cut most of the power to the station? Was that why nothing was lighting up as he moved? Two years… it couldn't have been two years? How could he do that to his little brother? What did Seto miss? What had Mokuba endured without him by his side? His little brother was alone and he wasn't there to protect him. The dread that squeezed his throat shut and made him strain his shoulders forward in protest, made him cry out in an inaudible struggle of terror. Beside him, the doors to the elevator back down to Earth, opened with a shush of air finally unblocking his path. In the reigning fright of the thousand questions that smothered him in yet another dark loathing, Seto threw his body into the elevator chair. He practically fell apart as he hit the chair, but managed to get the seat straps around his shoulders. He didn't buckle himself in time for the doors to shut and air lock the chamber. In seconds, the momentum of the elevator throttled itself back down to the Earth's surface.

Seto could hardly feel the pressure of the stratosphere crushing his insides into a million pieces and forcing them to be stars in the sky. This is not what bothered Seto. This is not what made him gag. No, what made Seto feel the worst, was his reflection in the perfectly polished doors. Sunken cheeks and shoulders grotesquely visible, Seto was a mere walking bag of bones with hardly any meat. In the two years he spent in his VR pod, his body withered away into a skeleton. The sight of his greying skin and eyes that showed no life, caused Seto to believe if he spent any longer in that pod, he'd be dead.

_Mokuba..._

Seto needed to get out as fast as he could. He didn't want this to be his reality anymore. He needed to live, he needed to be with Mokuba. Finally, as the screeching came to a sudden halt and the gravity of the situation enveloped him into a hug, the chair finally made it to the bottom. Slowly but surely, pressurized air released and decelerated the chair before it crashed Seto back into the afterlife he was so desperately trying to get away from. Straining against his own body, Seto pulled himself out of the chair and back to his feet in that small cylinder elevator. He was going to let himself fall out of the door, except when the door finally opened, there was a figure waiting for him with big eyes, tears ready to burst through any wall they built in the two years he was alone.

"Hey..." There he was, just how Seto imagined him to be at this age. Once a boy, who is no longer such, now stood only some odd inches below him, rather than a few feet. His brother after two years, was almost unrecognizable, except for the deep blue eyes that reflected the light like the ocean. The round face that used to look up at Seto and encouraged him to be the best he could be, had slimmed out and Mokuba was growing into the dashing young man Seto was afraid he'd become. Even Mokuba's voice had changed into a baritone and the memories of him calling out to Seto, were melting away.

"Mokuba...?" Seto struggled against the opened elevator door frame as he kept himself upwards. There was nothing left in him, but he didn't want to break his eyes away as Mokuba nodded in response. Seto could only gawk at him, as if a ghost cursed his vision with a trick. "You... got tall..."

Laughing was Mokuba's only response as he wiped at his eyes with the back of his dress shirt sleeve, hiding away all the breaking tears that finally fell upon his cheeks. Taking a shaky step forward, Mokuba wrapped his arms under Seto's shoulders. Pulling his big brother into a hug that wanted to crush Seto with the force of all the love Mokuba wanted to give.

**_"Welcome home."_**


	2. Lets Call it a Peakhanger

_**Chapter Warning**: Swearing & Drug Use_

* * *

_"Welcome back to the Channel 8 Domino City evening report! I'm Marcella Prows! As usual, I'm glad to announce that this evening is filled with some interesting headliners. Especially pertaining to the rising suspects of the Pier fires and the conviction of CEO and Drug Lord, Herbert Barns."_

"Guilty fuck..." Mokuba sipped on tea as he pulled a growl from the darkest depth of the earth under his breath and into his mug. He didn't mean to show it, but his feelings for the certain drug worm were ones of great potency.

Seto bore eyes into the programming code that sat mocking him on his computer screen. Did he need the programming team to give him the report he asked for days in advance only a few hours ago? No. He didn't. It was the last thing he needed. The beckoning papers sprawled out on his desk were insisting the code wasn't going to work. No matter how hard Seto wanted to force the science. Yet, so far the papers were telling him his efforts were futile. He was internally cursing them, wishing their demise in fiery end while the Television was on in the background and Mokuba was lounging on the couch texting on his phone. This was a calming white noise that filled Seto's stale blank office on a basis when he thought the world forgot he existed, and he was ultimately the only one left in his high-rise building. He liked to believe that filling such a silent void, which created such nervous demons who cried out when the stars shone, wasn't something he entirely needed. Nevertheless, it stopped the ringing in his ears that reminded him how alone he was.

_"In more uplifting news, the annual KC Dueling Tournament starts tomorrow! An event that brings thousands of duelists from around the world to duel for the crown, is certainly going to bring wonderful magic to Domino City. Unfortunately, KC CEO's Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba are unable to attend the tournament this year... We we're lucky enough to get a statement from Mokuba Kaiba on the matter."_

Mokuba's ears perked at the sudden sound of his name and his hands loosened over the excitement, ultimately dropping his phone in his lap. His eyes reflected the LED Television screen and Mokuba bent at the waist to reach for the remote that laid on the coffee table. "Hey, I'm gonna be on TV..."

Turning up the volume enough that it seemed certain whispers of the night were finally drowned away, Mokuba appeared on the screen with his grunge goddess by his side. Holland, who was practically Mokuba's second half, tried to hide herself behind him as Mokuba beamed into the cameras with pure rehearsed delight. Her face hidden by large round sunglasses and she was draped in a long black dress that fit snug to her very slim figure. Mokuba looked perfectly put together like the prince he wanted the world to see and as usual, his smile created a presence on the TV that none would ignore.

"I say with a heavy heart that my brother and I won't be attending the KC tournament this year," Seto looked up from his computer and to the television screen. "We both have come to agree that the stabilization of Kaiba Corporation in the East Coast is at our best interest. We will be leaving for New York City the day before the tournament to start negotiations. I hope that everyone participating this year has a wonderful time and I apologize deeply to any of those wishing to duel my brother and I. Next year, I promise, we'll be there! No more questions please." TV Mokuba then ushered that he wanted to answer no more with a simple wave of the hand and the screen flickered back to the news anchor.

"Well said..." Seto's dry tone filled the room, face hardly shedding much emotion.

"Thank you~ I'm head of communications and marketing for a reason." Mokuba's eyes flashed a strong sense of his own victory while he relaxed back into the folds of the couch.

The news anchor went on to gush about Holland's beauty as she stood behind Kaiba Corporations most beloved individual. Even Holland demanded attention while on screen with her darker aura and pout that made gothic fashion designers beg her to walk their runways regardless of her shorter height.

"... Holland must have loved that she was the center of attention..." Seto allowed his neck to relax and roll back down to his computer as his voice hinted a gentle poke of sarcasm.

Mokuba's happiness fell out of his eyes and his body seemed to contour over on the couch with the strength of his defeated sigh. "Yeah... I got an eye full of bad glares and angry growls."

Seto rubbed his eyes all the while mumbling to himself. What he was looking for was not there. He wasn't going to find it today, no matter how hard he wanted or begged for it to fall into place. Taking a deep breath in, he let the exhale pull his glower towards the outside world where he gazed into the September sky as it deepened into a Fall orange. The ablaze sunset looked to be sinking into the Pacific Ocean, allowing the ever-moving ocean to glimmer in gold. He squinted in the warmth of the remaining sunlight to rid the blue light screen strain in his eyes and turned towards the clock on the wall. It was nearing close to 8 in the evening and Seto's heart leapt up into his throat only to fall back into his cavities with a crashing vibrato of rushing heart beats. "We have to go." Seto's nerves hit the frenzy button in his wired soul, and he turned off the TV as the reporter started giving the segment on the Pier fires.

Startled Mokuba looked up at Seto during the abrupt turn off the the television. As Seto stood to his feet with a small crash of his desk chair and tossed on his suit coat methodically, Mokuba looked at the time on his phone. "Oh fuck..." Mokuba didn't flinch at the sudden knowledge of the time and seemed to breathe out his swear in annoyance.

"Let's go, or we'll miss our chance to fly out of Domino." Seto pressed a single button on his desk phone, calling for the town car quickly in his efforts to get himself situated to leave.

Mokuba frowned. "I was hoping to call Holland before we go."

"Call her in the car." Seto grabbed his laptop from the HDMI and shoved it into his work bag.

Mokuba's face did well in hiding his distaste for having a conversation in front of his brother, but it twitched all the same as he pulled a corner of his mouth into his cheek. Standing to straighten his dress pants, he forced his elbows out behind him and stretched his back. "I'm so excited for a six-hour flight… just the two of us."

Seto said nothing against Mokuba's heightened sarcasm that enraptured the room as Mokuba groaned through his stretch. Seto still raced for his double office doors to escape the withering time. Once those doors were thrown open however, he found a lean medium height woman pacing the lobby of the top floor offices. His Latina secretary and her dark eyes were filled with panic behind her rectangular glasses while she clutched balls of her skirt in worry. He watched her pace back and fro, wondering what the rehearsing a speech in Spanish was for and how she didn't notice him scrambling into the lobby.

"Jenny?" Seto finally called out to her.

"OH! Hi. Sorry!" Jenny squealed with a jump as she whipped her body towards him, still clutching to her skirts.

Seto raised an eyebrow at the sudden weak act of his strong secretary. Jenny did not scare easily, she was well aware of her surroundings, always had a back bone that showed no fear. He looked at her up and down only to glare at a woman he hardly recognized. "Why haven't you left yet?"

"I was finishing up the report for the accountants that you wanted me to look over…" He stayed quiet while she began rocking before him, through her toes to the heals of her feet.

Mokuba invaded the scene, forming out the door, fiddling with his suit jacket. Peering around Seto, who was blocking the center of the double door exit, he smiled seeing the secretary he adored. "Hey Jenny! What are you still doing here?"

"Spit it out, Jenny."

Seto's snarl was unintended but also showed the irritation that was building up. She **was** supposed to be home by now. As much as he adored her dedication, it did annoy him how much she over worked herself just to keep up with his many antics. He didn't **need **her to do so.

Poor Jenny's face crumpled at the obvious aggravation. Shaking her head away from the thoughts of possibly chewing him to pieces for his attitude, Jenny took a step forward to Seto. Lifting her hands away from her skirts, one fist revealing pills in hand – ones that could make the world fade into a black silence regardless of the time of day.

"I know you haven't really slept much in the last couple of days, so I was thinking," She quickly tucked the pills into his coat outside pocket. "Maybe you can let Mokuba watch control of the plane. Just for a while, as you sleep some?"

He rolled his eyes as she finished settling the pills in his pocket like a worried mother, "Go home, Jenny." Swaying past her without another word, he left Jenny standing there, unable to react to his pushing reluctance.

"Seto!" Jenny called after him, finally giving into her nerves. Harshly shouting at him, her accent leaked through heavily as her emotions took over.

Now there was his secretary he knew. Seto turned to give Jenny a silent look, the one that perpetuated the notion of consideration. A narrow of the eyes, and a second later Seto turned back for the elevator.

"Oh, 'The Look'," Mokuba laughed some as he morphed beside Jenny and curled his fingers in the air making quotes. "Don't worry Jenny, I'll make sure he sleeps some."

"I hope so." Jenny sighed and the weight of one thousand anxious tons was lifted off her shoulders, "Pollino is gonna get himself killed." Her Spanish accent rolled off her tongue as she raised her voice enough for Seto to hear her.

Standing alone in the elevator, Seto pressed the button that held the doors open for Mokuba while he rolled his eyes to the back of his head for emphasis. He had enough of this stupid bickering and conversation that would get him no closer to the airport.

"Go home, Jenny! He works you like a dog and yet, you still care too much." Mokuba harshly whispered in Jenny's ear as he turned on his toes around her and followed his brother, "You know, Luis hates when you do this to yourself."

She fiddled with her engagement ring. "I know, you're right."

Mokuba waved as he backed into the elevator, hands thrown behind him as he settled beside Seto with a cheerful smile giving his final farewell. When the doors finally closed on the two of them, Mokuba's face fell into a place of heavy retribution and frown turned sour, "If I wasn't the one forcing her salary, I would never forgive you for worrying her that much every single fucking day."

Seto breathed out, saying nothing to Mokuba's comment. Mokuba was not wrong. Seto shook his head at the thought of not having Jenny around and the sudden panic it created. Seto would be nothing without Jenny. She did so much for him, that she was practically the one keeping everything afloat around him. She watched him closely as he continued his implusions of inventing gadgets and helping the research department find new and better ways for the company's tech. She always looked over the reports after he went through them himself for hours. Keeping him in check was what she was hired for and he did not want to think about where he would be if she wasn't the one always putting him in his rightful place.

When the elevator finally settled on the main lobby floor, the two dashed past security to the town car sitting out front in the circled company driveway. Checking his phone quickly for the time, Seto let out a breath of happiness seeing Isono waiting for them. When Seto went into space for two years, Mokuba let Isono retire. Unfortunately, since Isono was so dedicated to the two of them for so long, it was hard for him to adjust to a life of nothing but solitude. So Isono returned as the on-call personal driver after a month of retirement. He still had his freedom, but he was also around enough to keep himself busy.

"The bags?" Seto ushered in a breathless voice as he stopped himself before Isono.

"In the trunk, Mr. Kaiba." Isono, now an older gentleman with hair turned grey, smiled softly while opening the back door as they approached. "Ms. Maria had them ready when I arrived at the house."

"My guitar-?" Mokuba jumped into the open door without stopping his momentum, wondering where his most precious luggage was. As his body entered the back, he found it leaning against the seat. Mokuba's question disappeared as if dissipated into the atmosphere while it was replaced with laughter of his own suspicions. Jumping to the trunk facing seat, he slid to grab his guitar case and held it to his body like a child he never wanted to let go of.

Seto kept himself outside of the car with Isono as they watched Mokuba get in. The two stood in their normal silence, as Seto gave Isono a smile that was kind and tried to calm his breathing before getting in the car, "Thank you, Isono." Seto's gratitude was met with a return of genuine contentment as Isono nodded to Seto's kind words with his own tired beam.

By the time they drove out of the company driveway and entered the freeway, the sun was creating fire in the reflective windows of the many sky scrapers. The glory of a Pacific sunset was the fire of the sun that seemed to engulf the horizon in ways that made you believe the world was ending but it was calming all the same. No matter the time of day, the California traffic going north to San Francisco or going south to Los Angeles would most likely be the reason they were late for the flight. Domino being the one stuck between those two cities, the three created the California Trifecta, the most powerful cities of the Western Coast. It was no wonder the amount of people that subjected themselves to such a lifestyle of being late to everything and posh excuses of spending money would create such a mess.

After some moments of silence and Seto's eyes watching the skyline scan across a never-ending ocean, Mokuba created an inaudible groan. Seto turned to see him fiddling with his phone, while balancing his guitar case between his legs. With a soft chuckle to himself, Seto turned back to burning gold as he heard an outgoing ring on the other side of the car. Abruptly the dial tone came to a halt and a slight monotonous female voice answered with a snarky remark. Seto could lightly make out the, 'What the fuck do you want?' and in response, he breathed out yet another light laugh. Holland never ceased to surprise him with her no-fucks attitude and her way to counter act Mokuba's on going bubbly, ruler of the world foolery.

Mokuba laughed as if he didn't even resonate with the remark. "Hi to you too, love."

Holland's voice then perked up a bit and Seto could just imagine what she was saying and the way she was holding a straight stare with light icy pout. Her hair was most likely balancing on the top of her head in a bun held by a pencil. The over sized T-Shirt on her model thin figure was ratty and most definitely Mokuba's. Seto spent enough time with her to know her movements, immensely to the point that her voice was so stuck in his head that he heard it when he needed straight forward reason.

"How's the studying going?... Really?... You got this, Holland, you don't have to freak out as much as you do about small quizzes…"

Seto was blessed with the fact that Holland was the more responsible one in the very serious relationship. The two were a dynamic in itself regardless. Never missing a beat, the two worked like they were one entity – like The Sun and The Moon. It made him happier that she was also incredibly intelligent and worked for it at a capacity that amazed him. Holland studied more than himself when he was her age and because of that, she pressured Mokuba to do better more than he already was. Only then did his mind fall into thinking about how Mokuba tended to slack off to socialize with those around him and party until 3 in the morning. One of the biggest differences between the two brothers was the need of human interaction. Seto did not need it. Except Mokuba thrived in it. Mokuba needed people to survive – he needed to be the center of attention just to feel validated. Seto fumigated with annoyance over the sheer fact that Mokuba turned into such a socialite. To Seto's advantage, he could now sit in the background tinkering with his inventions as Mokuba became the face of Kaiba Corporation and dealt with the world around them.

"Well when it's all over, I want you to sleep as much as you can… No, that's pretty much an order… I won't be able to make you, but don't tempt me…" Out of the corner of Seto's eye, he noticed a blush creep up on Mokuba's cheeks and Mokuba cleared his throat in response.

Teenage love confused Seto. Mokuba was so head over heels for Holland since the first moment he met her, he worshipped her like a goddess. She was a literal rock in his life that he wouldn't let break away. So determined to keep her by his side forever – no matter the cost. To Seto's amazement, Holland was more in control of the relationship than Mokuba was – and this was the boy that wanted to be in control of _everything_. Seto enjoyed that Mokuba at least came out to respect the women around him especially the one he loved deeply. With a sigh of relief about Mokuba's wellbeing, Seto then heard Holland utter, "When are you coming home?"

"…Fuck, I don't know yet, Holland… Yeah, I'm sorry… Are you going to stay at the house at all?... Not even to study? … Haha, I guess that's true. Be too empty for me to… Are they happy you are home?... Tell Mom I said Hi, Dad too… Smothering you!? … I mean I would too if you were gone for weeks on end… No-no! ... Hahahaha, I love you…"

Seto believed Mokuba flung those words to her too often. He was far too young to know what love was. The downfall of Seto's own opinions was he hadn't really felt real love. Once, perhaps? Yeah, only once. Even that turned into nothing because he was so blinded by his own ignorance that the moment he realized what it was, she was never going to be his. Even then, when Seto saw the two love birds together, it was everything he secretly always longed for. He wanted someone to be able to bounce off all his jagged edges and make him the best person he could be, all the while they being the pure source of his happiness. As Seto was getting lost in the thought of having a hand to hold and the possible perfection of actually being able to sleep next to someone he cared about, the airport then came into view and the town car merged into the highway exit.

"Look, I'm coming up on the airport… Yeah~ I gotta go… I'll call you the moment I get there… Of course… I'll miss you, this whole trip will be God awful without you…"

Through more thick traffic of people trying to rush into the airport and the overabundance of taxis, the town car swerved into the Departures and found a free space to let them out. Isono stepped out of the car as he hit the hazards before Seto and Mokuba, to ensure their safety.

"Why don't you ask Seto yourself?… You did? What did he say?… Not for women like you! HA!... He's trying to protect you, the East Coast isn't for women like you… I doubt that… I love you… Hey! … Gosh, so mean… Hahahaha …"

Seto grabbed his laptop bag and he started to get out of the car, "Mokuba, let's go." His voice was low, but held enough demand to grab Mokuba's attention.

"I'm being yelled at… Say it! I could get in a plane crash or something and die!…"

Mokuba's laughs were emerging out of the car, yet he didn't move an inch. The human bodies outside trying to get to their destination, gave a bolt of eagerness through Seto. As much as he hated people, he loved the thrill of traveling and being in the buzz of going to point A to point B. Seto was helping Isono with the bags, until Seto paused to swing half his body back into the town car to glare at Mokuba.

"Hahahah! …. I love you too… Go to the house when you need a break… I love you…"

"Mokuba, now." Seto watched Mokuba for a second. Rolling his eyes at the body language his brother radiated and how there was no care in the world for him at this moment. So Seto raised his voice this time and he formed out of the car once more to grab the suitcases on the sidewalk.

"I gotta go... Bye!" As Mokuba hung up the call quickly right after Holland gave her third goodbye, he messily hurled himself out of the town car with his guitar case in hand, heart racing as he was reminded that he had a plane to catch.

Situating himself within seconds, Mokuba had his guitar strapped around his body and he easily calmed himself as he fell into his element of being in the middle of the crowds, demanding the attention of anyone that would casually look his way. Seto practically chucked Mokuba's suitcase at him, to which Mokuba whined in response to. Finally, Seto smiled to Isono and waved as he turned away for the giant sliding doors. Isono waved back and stood by the car to watch them leave. Seto left Mokuba on the side walk alone, as he went down his mental check list of everything he needed to bring with him, and quickly Seto paced himself into the airport without delay.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba. Your jet is ready for you, sir." It wasn't a single second of Seto walking through the glass sliding doors that a flight attendant met him.

Seto sighed in relief to the flight attendant's appearance and he nodded to her smiling greeting. Behind him, Mokuba raced through the glass doors, yelling after Seto to wait for him while making a scene to which some bodies turned to see. To which the flight attendant laughed at the scurrying nervous teen, since they were still standing there nonchalantly. Seto took the chance to hit Mokuba in the arm for being all over the place and gave him a light scold to focus. Mokuba stuck his tongue out at Seto in response and made some inaudible nagging noises before he smiled big at the flight attendant as she ushered them to come to security with her to get their clearance. Security for the both of them was a breeze and as they passed through, the flight attendant brought them out to the runway. There was the Kaiba Corporation jet waiting for them. A simple smaller jet, that could fit a handful of people, but one that Seto knew how to fly very well.

"Thank you so much." Mokuba was helping the male flight attendant that they met outside on the runway with the bags because he felt obligated to. Mokuba's kind generosity filled the cabin as well as the sound of suitcases finding their respected spots and some small talk.

Seto was already in the cockpit setting his coordinates and communicating with the Air Traffic Control for air clearance. Talk filled with Air Force jargon, Seto worked to stabilize the aircraft as the metal stairs were pulled away from the jet. The aircraft doors then closed with an air sucking tightness and Seto felt Mokuba rustling behind him. Mokuba fell into the second command seat beside Seto and he put on his own headset.

"_We ready to go_?" Mokuba's voice filled Seto's ears through his headset and Mokuba started touching his own switches. Seto was intent on the screens in front of him, watching certain gages and levels rise and fall with his pre-launch mental checklist.

"_We have 2 aircrafts that have to go first, then it's our turn." _Seto flipped many switches as the jet began whirling a loud pitch, the engines began to turn and the thrusters revved. Seto shivered to the sound, it was perfect. There were no sounds of discrepancies in the startup nor any he could see in front of him on his screens.

Getting into line and waiting not long, it was their turn to take off. Seto and Mokuba worked in unison to get the plane off the ground smoothly and ascended in a quick fashion. At the right altitude, Seto let the aircraft straighten out and set in place the auto pilot. Turning nobs and flipping some more switches, the aircraft finally settled into a calmer state and the noise in the cabin was reduced. Seto's hands hovered around the control wheel, fingers curling in the air as if to feel the pressure and assess the ability to finally let go. Sighing in relief as the air craft began to cruise into the settled night in the East, Seto finally took off his headset and relaxed in his seat. Mokuba had already took off his headset and hung it behind him. Mokuba moved his seat backwards to relax some and curled his knees into his chest as he hoovered his arms over his head to stretch.

Mokuba's eyes were fixated on the plane compass as Seto was more absorbed on the screens, making double sure he was safe to let control out of his hands. "Why are we heading south east?" Mokuba's voice was a normal tone, but in the cockpit, it wandered around as more of a whisper.

Seto looked up at the compass and then back down, "We aren't allowed to fly over the Rocky Mountains directly East."

"We aren't?" Mokuba's eyebrows raised. As much as he loved flying, he didn't know as much as his brother. It wasn't a sport to him, like it was for Seto. This information was news to him and he questioned to himself what reason could be.

"The mountain's in Wyoming-Idaho are protected by the Native Rule."

"Ooooh~" Mokuba's sudden realization to the Native hold in the West came to him and he bounced his head about in thought. He tended to forget about how the Natives were the main authority in the West, and their rule was absolute when it came to the wellbeing of the land. Living in the California Trifecta desensitized him to the reality outside of those cities and how there was more of a rustic nature out there than the industrial one he was so used to. Mokuba wasn't fully sure what the Native Rule meant, but he didn't want to provoke Seto by asking a thousand questions, something Mokuba knew Seto wasn't fond of. "So we are flying to Denver?"

Seto nodded, finally coming to terms that the aircraft was to his liking and he began fishing the pills out of his coat pocket. After he had them in his hand, he took off his suit coat and settled it in his lap. Seto looked at Mokuba who was gazing into the darkening skies, most likely counting the many stars that became so visible when they were that high up in that grey light. "You got the plane, right?"

Grabbing his attention, Mokuba's soft smile was one of the more genuine ones he held that day. "Damn straight." Mokuba noticed the two Xanax and one large muscle relaxant pill waiting in Seto's hand to be taken. "Get faded, bro."

Seto groaned at the thought of him coming in and out of consciousness, but the pills were definitely going to make him feel rested by the time they got there. Except, there was something in his heart that made him uneasy, something that made it feel like an impending doom was going to take place. Yet, that could have also been the thought of letting his brother control a plane while he drifted off into a land for the blitzed. "Just make sure-."

"I got it. It will be fine." Mokuba turned his chair and reached behind him to grab a plastic water bottle out of a closed compartment in the entry way of the cock pit. "Plus, auto pilot!" Mokuba held out a hand with the water bottle towards Seto and hung it in the air for him to take.

Seto took the water bottle reluctantly but he shivered away his fears, "Alright, alright."

With that, Seto chugged back the magic Xanax and muscle relaxant. The two talked some as Seto held onto his mind for the hour he had. It was in that hour approximately, that the numbing mist began to settle in his eyes and his body felt like a ton of bricks replaced his bones. Seto's breathing slowed and he enjoyed the peacefulness in his mind, instead of the constant racing thoughts of deprecation and memories he'd really like to forget. The large void in his mind felt like it was being flooded with glitter and gold, and he couldn't help but let a smile roll in his lips, as he decided to fall deeper into the light.

"⍥⌷⍑ ⍎⍫ ⍩ ⌽ ⍭ _!_"

Mokuba had just finished speaking with Las Vegas traffic – to which Seto was able to help his brother get through even in his state of mine, when Seto heard this haunting whisper flitter around his head and penetrate his skull. Seto whipped his head violently around in many directions, trying to catch it but it disappeared. As he thrashed about, his eyes recoiled around in his skull like bouncy balls making his eyes slighty fuzzy.

"⍥⌷⍑ ⍎⍫ ⍩ ⌽ ⍭ _!_"

When it came to him again, he straightened in his back and he shuddered. He must have been really doped to the point of hallucinations or Mokuba was still talking and his ears were drowning it out.

"Are you still talking to Las Vegas?" Seto threw his head towards Mokuba, propelling his chest out from under him. His head stayed planted against the head rest, wanting to get away from the ominous chanting of the unknown.

"No. I haven't said a thing to anyone for a while now." Mokuba mumbled into a shake of his head as he was preoccupied with the altitude numbers before him.

**"⍥⌷⍑ ⍎⍫ ⍩ ⌽ ⍭ _!_"**

Seto's head rolled erratically as the whispers in his ear returned and he heaved his upper body away from the seat at Mokuba, who was still looking down completely unaware of Seto's calamity. "You hear that?" A thick roll of the tongue and a slur meant for the intoxicated, and Mokuba looked at his brother like he had three heads.

"I don't hear a thing." Seeing his brother baked beyond compare was hilarious to Mokuba. Something he didn't see often, unless it was the hospitals doing, Mokuba held his laughs in his belly all the while kind of choking on them as they waved forward wanting to fall out of him. It was then Mokuba could hear distant voices in the headset above him and he reached up to grab it. "You're high, go to sleep."

Mokuba placed the headset on his head. "_This is – Control – You Can Not – Mountains."_ The distorted static yelling in Mokuba's ears, made him raise a brow. Looking down at the GPS, Mokuba tilted his head and listened more, even though it was difficult to make out. "_Air Traffic – Turn – Mountain's – Forbidden to pass!"_

**"⍥⌷⍑ ⍎⍫ ⍩ ⌽ ⍭ _!_"**

The voices were getting louder, and the fog in Seto's mind started to produce an acid drip through his spine. In response, his body hurdled itself back into the chair with a riveting thud and he squeezed against the back of the chair. Seto felt like he was being injected with black tar and the supernatural feeling of death enveloped him through his veins and into his chest. A burning flash filled his eyes and as it darkened, Seto felt himself drifting away from his body and into a hollow oblivion he was being dragged into.

"Hey Seto, are we still heading to Denver?" Mokuba called for his brother, but as he turned for a second to look at Seto, Seto's head rolled forward as if it broke off the seams and was ready to fall off his shoulders.

"**Seto!" **

Mokuba grasped for Seto as he crumbled forward in his seat. Grabbing him by the shoulder, Seto swayed around like one poor beaten up ragdoll only to flop back in his seat as if he was an empty shell.

"**Fuck! Seto, wake up!" **

"_**This is Air Traffic Control of Yellowstone International! Turn your plane immediately! You are not allowed to fly directly over the Mountain's of the Shoshone!**_"

The yelling in Mokuba's ears was finally clear to hear, but as Mokuba lifted his head to look out into the sky to listen, the open sky was no longer- and the peak of a mountain formed out of the light clouded sky dead straight in front of him.


	3. Brace for Impact

**Chapter Warning:** Swearing, Violence & Drug Use

* * *

Summer still lingered in places other than the scorching hot deserts and the humid coast lines. Where nature was at its rawest and mother of all life scurried along the sun, summer still fleeted the grassy fields and tops of the highest mountains. Day after day, the heat weaved one into the other making the longest light even longer in the eyes of those that relished in the thought of living forever.

Life was good, life was well. The late grasshoppers were serenading the fireflies that were flittering into the skies for one last performance. Not long, they will all disappear and bring a certain chill to the air that many find a certain sadness in.

Two bodies, old enough to know the worlds in and outs, brought wine glasses together in a toast of admiration. Dusty grey hair and wrinkles were battle scars of a lifetime which was kind. Arm around the shoulder, the two worked together to sway the suspended double porch swing with the tips of their toes. The woman laughed tenderly into the night and the male took a sip of the red wine he previously swirled for emphasis.

As if the universe set them free into a place of their own, it was disrupted suddenly as the screen door slowly slipped across the old wooden floor. The creak of iron hinges caused the couple to find a blond girl looking to the sky. Her face would have held a tired tenderness, except the forests that grew in her soul reflecting to the world through her eyes were cloudy with horror.

"Hey, sugar." The woman with a voice so serene in the moment, cracked the air with her thick western accent. Her call caused the girl to sway in recognition, but her eyes still scanned the sky for something lost and not seen.

"Do you hear that?" A voice you would have imagined to have a power to bring down armies, hardly crawled out her throat, and strained against the cords that wanted to split. It's tension against a mere existence, fleeted away the bored attempt to hang around for maybe just a little.

"Hear what, sugar?" A question that laughed more than wondered. The woman tilted her head away from the girl and into a space to catch the sound in question.

"I hear a plane…" The girl choked.

There was a sudden thrash and the woman was jerked to the side. The male who was silently contemplating the possibility of either bison or elk making an odd scream in the night, threw himself to his feet. Eyes that now imitated the girls, his ears searched for the whirl of blades against the air, one that he knew very well.

The initial focus was met with immediate discover, which was no treasure. The man gritted his teeth, frantically probing the peaks of certain giants that beckoned the skyline who showed him little illuminations and he found the intruder.

"THERE! Over the South Mountain! What the fuck are they doing?!"

* * *

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

He did the best he could, it was all he could pray for.

Mokuba pulled on the wheel into his chest and smashed the small red button on the handle. The metallic hull jerked upwards and twisted the plane, forcing its trajectory to sideway advances.

How it wasn't fast enough.

As such circumstances transcended into atmospheric pleas, the right wing clipped the mountain peak. The creaking of metal on stone scared the child. He shook the wheel, hoping it would allow for better gripping. As if the world was against him enough, particular granite that chipped away from that abrupt meeting, flung itself into the right engine causing a catastrophic explosion.

The push of such an electric blast, cause the tail to jut and bend out to the left. Mokuba hardly had control, but in his frantic fear, he switched as many stabilizers as he could and switched the power to the left engine with a punch to the dash.

The sky bus was falling with speed nonetheless.

* * *

"Jesus fucking Christ!"

The older man was watching the plane as it lit the mountain range with the sparking engine. The gentleman ran off the porch and for the single dirt road that led to the house. "They lost an engine!"

"George! Get back here!" The older woman's efforts of calling her husband were futile.

* * *

"Fuck!" You couldn't hear Mokuba scream over the whirling in the cabin as it was loosing pressure. The whole dash was blaring this ugly alarm, that was terrifying in nature, predetermining Mokuba's death. "Seto, wake up!"

Seto did not wake, he wasn't going to.

Glass shattered into the hull, as the cabin windows burst from the rushing winds that were creaking through the singular hole the right engine blew into the plane.

Mokuba began choking on the air that was left for him to breathe. Altitude was falling faster than sound itself and was starving his lungs of the only chemical life clings too.

In the fear of throwing around swears that wouldn't fix the situation, Mokuba was doing his best. He was doing his gosh darnest. It wouldn't stop the sudden peak of a sister mountain that likely formed out of thin air in spite. The left wing bounced on it and created a chain of events. The plane curved forward and down the face of the mountain as the lights began to flicker, making sight in the dead of night very difficult. Holding the wheel into his chest, Mokuba used one foot to kick the dash. Mostly to release some anxiety that was beating against his rib cage but also to heel an emergency power button.

* * *

"Glide that fucking plane! Keep it stable!"

The older gentlemen watched the plane form out of the mountain range but started to plummet into the dense pine forests below. He could see the power dimming and even with his older ears, could hear the high pitch scream of the crying vessel.

* * *

He couldn't see much, but what he could see out before him, was the tops of illuminated pine trees as the outside lights skittered with electricity. To Mokuba, the pines at this view were spears, ready to lunge through the windshield and stab him into a suspended defeat that the world would see.

There was no ground to tell him that hell was calling, so instead of succumbing to Satans song, he said not today. Pushing the wheel in a thrashing motion, he projected the wheel between his legs and whatever strength the hull had left, leveled the plane out. In the nick of time, the plane caught the wind under its battered wings. Wind whipped the plane as the bottom grazed the tops of the pines. Earth spears were no longer petrifying but the sound of the Knights trying to gather the plane in their grips was a whirlwind battle.

It felt like a bounce and release when Mokuba felt the plane straighten. The pressure of the skies felt less heavy and the creeping air in the cabin was no longer a screeching demise.

Mokuba could see the ground below him now. The flat plains beyond were more welcomed than the rock giants and their vengeance.

So he sighed in a victory.

With less of a pull on the stirring wheel, Mokuba was crunching buttons and flipping switches. Yet, the moment things started to feel a little better, the gremlins wanted to make matters worse. The dash started blaring this red alarm as a metal tearing symphony stabbed his ears.

The right wing couldn't take it anymore.

"No, no, no." If only the wing held on a little longer. Maybe Mokuba would have had a chance to glide the plane down to safety. But now, with it thrown off the side and into the grassy fields below, Mokuba had less to hope for.

With the wing gone, the vessel fought against the wheel and wanted to spiral out due to the imbalance. So Mokuba began to fight again, to keep it in flight so it wouldn't hurdle downwards and crush Seto and him both.

So another kick to the dash, but this time with two feet. He slammed them a top, hoping something would work.

Well it did.

Just as he felt the plane begin to turn on its side, the left engine cried out and the cabin lit up again. It jerked this nasty heave forward and unfortunately, it caused the plane to curve back down, towards the ground.

* * *

"Stabilize that plane!" A man who wouldn't hurt a fly, screamed with the force of an angry animal.

The plane itself came dangerously close overhead, but the man did not care. His legs carried him to the exact spot the plane would descend over. The man could tell the plane was failing, the man could tell who ever was putting up the fight was going to give in.

The tail was finally going to snap loose.

* * *

The ground was getting dangerously close, he could see it in the flashing lights. Mokuba was getting tired. His arms were working against him, numbing in submission to the pain. He could hear the grinding of the tearing tail behind him. He could feel the plane no longer being able to be controlled.

At that point, it was his choice.

Mokuba threw out his left leg towards Seto and heeled the crash impact button, causing the power to go into the cabin air bags for deploy. The chairs inflated as the chest straps tightened around both their chests, forcing Seto to sit back and safe but not before there was a whip lash to the action causing his head to collide with the back.

Mokuba let go. In doing so, he threw his arms over his head to protect himself, not to mention, to hide the view of the earth engulfing them.

* * *

"Mother fucker!" Jumping the fence that lined the dirt road, the older man stumbled his way into the field that was disrupted by the scene of despair. Beyond the slipping force the plane hurdled towards, the older man noticed the river that would not move even if it was a gods will. "They are going to hit the river bank!"

A pained scream crawled out from fear.

* * *

The plane bounced onto the ground, nose first – tail second. The moment the whole plane collided in a forceful gag; the windshield burst. Earth and its sudden disruption cried out in a hiss as the sound of imitating gunshots cut the air while the air bags in the pilot cabin deployed. The torn vessel and its remains, created a ghastly sound as if a mortar launched itself into a meth lab. The power of such a sliding crash, shook the earth and silenced the atmosphere.

At first, Mokuba thought it wasn't so bad as he prepared for the worst. Dirt was much softer than rock. Except as he felt like tearing his arms away from his head, the plane hit a rocky source, creating a loud crunch. The reverbs of such a tumbling cry made Mokuba squeeze his arms against his head while his body fought against the sudden force of nowhere else to go.

The sound was awful. It was the worst part. It made his ears tear and his body want to crumble against the bursting deterioration. A subsonic tumult of devastation tore at any remaining hope to be seen or wanted. The poor boy was praying even though he didn't believe in anything particular. Mokuba wasn't sure if he was dead, still moving towards doom, or just shaking. The cold iron plated floor beneath him felt like it came to a standstill but was oddly wet. Mokuba finally felt the courage to peel his arms away from his head only to reveal to his blurry vision that the hull was no longer. The battered carnage was unrecognizable, and water was dripping in from the shattered shield. Screens before him flashed in their pale glow of static noise. Muddy air was making his eyes sting, right before the light completely disappeared revealing an unsettling darkness.

"Ahhh," Mokuba's moaning was more like crying and tears fell freely. He tried to turn his head to look at Seto, but the seatbelt held him tightly to the back of the chair that he could hardly move. "Seto! Fuck!" Mokuba's hands quickly fiddled with the buckle and once free, he was finally able to turn towards Seto, who showed no signs of coming too. "Fuck, fuck! Bro, come-on! Mmmm-auugh!"

A sudden pain filled him that sent a lightning bolt through his veins and flared his nerves into electric shock as he tried to reach for Seto. His chest felt like it broke into a million pieces and there was a warm sensation running down his leg. Looking down, he saw a giant piece of shrapnel sticking out of his outter thigh and a sudden surge of panic drowned him.

"_If they just kept it straight for two more fucking seconds!" _

"_I'm praying they are alive." _

"_I called Koda and Serena!" _

"_Claire, stand back!"_

The muffled voices made Mokuba grip his leg as if the motion of squeezing alone would stop the bleeding and make the shrapnel fall out of his leg. Mokuba looked around frantically, "Hel-ahh." he couldn't breathe. His insides were melting against the impact that has now rendered him useless. Internally forcing himself past the pain, he took a deep breath that filled his caving lungs and screamed. "**HELP**!"

"_One is alive! George!"_

With a loud thud and a metallic scrap, a push of air filled the cabin. There was a sudden rock of movement, which cause the plane to move slightly as if something with significant weight stirred the vessel.

"It's just a fucking boy!" To Mokuba's blurry eyes, there was an older man that emerged next to him. This must have been George, but to hell with actually registering the name. Mokuba felt George's heavy hands on his head. "How's your neck, boy?"

"My brother, please!" Mokuba didn't care about his fucking neck. He cared about Seto.

"Fucking, Christ." George pushed himself through the wreckage and positioned himself near Seto, covering Mokuba's view of Seto in the process.

"Oh, no. Dearling…" There was a gentle women's voice with a drawl that whispered in Mokuba's ear. Mokuba could feel soft touches trailing his shoulder as if those fingertips were reading his insides and making judgment on the harm. "George, the boy's leg. This isn't good…" The woman and her silver hair positioned herself downwards towards Mokuba's leg.

Mokuba watched George with intent. "Claire! Hold his head." A blond figure that George called for, entered with ease and this Claire wrapped her arms around Seto's head as George's fingers positioned Seto's neck into a state of natural progression.

The presumed older woman clicked her tongue and alerted Mokuba's senses as she started to peel clothes away, inspecting his leg injury. "George, I need to get this boy out of here… I can't see a thing."

"This one's breathing." George sighed in relief. Mokuba could see George's shoulders rise and fall in the murky dark with the realization that both bodies were alive even after such a witnessed defeat. "Keep his neck stable, Claire." George moved back to Mokuba, side stepping the woman doing her best to clear the visible wounds and stood behind the chair Mokuba was in. "Mary, we got to get the boy out of here."

"Gods, I hope Koda is racing here… The shrapnel..."

Mokuba felt his body peer away from the back of the seat he so graciously melded to for safety, as George snaked his arms on Mokuba's back and buckled his inner elbows within the pits of his arms. "He got burns all over him, Mary. Get his legs."

Mary wrapped her arms carefully around his knees making sure the obvious threat wasn't tampered with. "Everything is going to be alright, Dearling. Don't you be scared."

Her voice was under all tones of calm and sweet, that even within those disassociating moments of fear, Mokuba took a deep breath.

"Good! Breathe!"

The two then worked diligently to get Mokuba out by lifting him together and away of the wreckage. Mokuba held in his deep wallows of sorrow in the time of being carried away from the materialized death trap to freedom. Being out of the plane was a rip in reality. Seeing the sky he just recently fell out of was terrifying but also freeing to know that the ground was his to walk on still, not to live under. In the teary eyes of the broken, the sky was much brighter than usual. It was tantalizing in the dance of stars that glowed their tune. Mokuba wouldn't be joining the stars yet, that he was thankful for.

Once out and away to a spot more safe, George and Mary set Mokuba into the tall grass on his back. Mokuba could feel his soul slipping away from his body, as to watch this true-life event like it was a movie. Mary started tearing Mokuba's clothes away from the laceration in his skin especially now that the moon was helping her see.

"I'm going back in for the other. Claire is in there!" Mokuba heard George clap his hands together to ready himself and then dashed back into the plane.

Mokuba could feel Mary working super-fast getting him free of clothing as he heard jean being torn apart and it rattled his nerves. **Fuck, the jeans were perfectly fitted and Gucci.** The thought crossed his mind and this little lob of unfortunate sadness cause the true sobbing to emerge. The subsided pain that was forced away thanks to the night sky, bubbled back to the surface in his leg, only to spread like poison from his toes to his fingertips.

"Fuck! FUCK! Jesus fuck!" The jeans weren't supposed to make him break like a blubbering fool, but the last straw was drawn for him. "Fucking hell and all it's fucking cunts!" He screamed on the top of his lungs like it would force yet another distraction.

At that moment, it was like his fits summoned the rightful angel's song to be his saving grace. The sound of an ambulance smothered the crumbling air and the crash of snapping wood bellowed behind him. A sudden flutter of light covered the field in flashing red but also revealed the scene with fluorescent head lights. The abruption of light blinded Mokuba's adjusted eyes but the obvious red made him sigh in relief.

"**MARY**!"

Another woman's voice called out, as Mary almost had Mokuba completely exposed from any clothing and free of all restriction.

"Tell me they made it?!" There was a loud, sudden close of a car door and a man's voice shouted.

"This boy has metal in his leg, Koda! It's bad! Serena, there's a man in the plane still, he needs a neck brace!"

In a rush, the sound of running feet surrounded Mokuba. As one ran past, one threw their weight beside Mokuba. The sky was suddenly covered up by a large built man and his gentle face peered down at him.

"Is he conscious?" The man snapped over Mokuba's face and Mokuba whined at the sudden flash of fingers with a choking sob. "Good!" The man answered the question with the movement of his fingers, and he positioned himself down to Mokuba's side. The man's broad shoulders were now the distraction Mokuba needed, and he stared wide eyed as the man ran a finger over his lips, inspecting what was before him. "To the spirits above… Mary, if we pull this, he will bleed to death. He needs to go to the Hospital…"

"Well we work the best we fucking can!" Mary spat at him. Her energy was so sudden it made both males recoil. "We could lose the boy! He's only 17, if that!"

"16… I'm 16." Mokuba interrupted with his broken whispers and the two adults above stared at him.

There was a sigh from the younger man. His shoulders fell into his chest and the defeat of fighting left him easily. "He is still in the land of the living, Mary. The spirits spared him. He will live." A strong hand came out of the dark and touched Mokuba's forehead. Mokuba found the males dark eyes that held the shine of the headlights like an aurora sky. "Relax boy, or you will be in more pain."

"Please get it out of my fucking leg." Mokuba cried out.

The rustle returned but it came with a grunt. Next to Mokuba, a younger woman with raven hair and olive skin carried Seto's body with George. The blond girl followed behind, biting her nails. They placed Seto down gently and the women sighed as the weight against her body was lessened.

"This man is okay." The woman's whisper was like a song. Something welcomed in the moment.

"Okay? Just okay?" Mary tensed her throat and spoke in annoyance to the vague choice of words.

"I scanned his head and the scans showed no bleeding. He's probably suffering from a concussion, but nothing compared to the boy." Her hands moved quickly when they distributed the feeling of being free. Steady and methodical, she tucked a small device into her back pocket and faced Mokuba in a glowing repercussion. "Koda, go get the stretcher, I will remove the metal in the ambulance."

The strong built man kneeling next to Mokuba, who was confirmed to be Koda, nodded as he threw himself to his feet only to disappear. In seconds, the women that held that fuzzy light even in the dark, showed her kind face beside Mokuba now. Mokuba focused on her, gazing through the aura that tickled his stomach. He didn't flinch when she flashed a light in his eyes, he was so entranced. She worked a magic in and out when she then picked up his arms and noticed the burn marks on his elbows and cuts scattered about his arms. "You protected your head?"

"Yes…"

She sighed in relief and a smile followed suit, "You're a smart boy." Mokuba nodded in silence when the stretcher arrived and Koda placed it in the grass. "Ready?"

Mokuba didn't have a choice nor a chance to answer. If he was ready or not, he was quickly shifted to the stretcher and whisked away towards the ambulance.

"Gimme a vial of Morphine for the other one. I will take care of him." Mary and her western drawl demanded while the lights of the ambulance disoriented Mokuba's senses as he was pushed into the ambulance.

By the time his eyes adjusted to the fluorescent ceiling, the meticulous woman worked quickly to throw a clean enclosed IV, bag of clear liquid, and small vial for Mary to catch. "Good luck, Mar."

The doors shut with a loud clatter with onset silence which turned Mokuba's insides unsettled. The world was spinning around him and he felt throbbing pain pounding against his hips. It felt like a draining space was replacing his bones with shouting darkness. He couldn't feel the ambulance bounce it's way through the unbeaten path but he could feel the tug and pinching squeeze of hard rubber on his arm.

Mokuba screeched and he whipped his head towards the women with raven hair and eyes that held a natural Eden. "Ow, what the fuck?" The beautiful human who used her fingers to search for a vein inside the fold of his elbow, smiled bright with an IV tube held between her teeth and her bottom lip.

"You won't feel anything soon. Close your eyes." Her eyes that met his held mountains of earthly lines. Mokuba could feel tears rolling in his throat once more and he choked on the air he breathed.

Finding a vein, she poked him with an IV that made him gasp. Whatever clear liquid she forced into him, created a new kind of banging turmoil in his mind. The world chucked into a 0 axis and he could have sworn the sky was purple. Mokuba watched her morph into three beings while fairies trickled out of the lights to giggle in his ears right before he blasted off into oblivion.

"Time to get this metal out of you."


	4. Brace for Ground

**Chapter Warning:** Swearing

* * *

Oh, how unfortunate. There was no more floating.

Mokuba felt his spirit crawling back into his shell it was so vehemently torn away from. There was a light humming around him as he began to feel the world against him. Piece by piece, bit by bit – the sound and light vibrated into a dim limelight. He wanted so bad to drift away back in unconsciousness, but as the butterfly flutters in his veins withered, Mokuba could feel the stabbing in his chest and a deep knocking against his bones that forced him awake. The stale air and the undertone of bleach made it certain that Mokuba was in the one place that wasn't as perfect on the surface as it wanted to be. The straining fluorescents peered at him through his eyes and sent their waves of good morning.

"_Dr. Woods, they broke a federal law flying over the Mountains."_

"_He barely made it out alive. Isn't that enough punishment for the boy?"_

Certain voices slithered across the floor and into Mokuba's ears. Their intrusion made Mokuba open his eyes and just the acknowledgement of being alive, made his body jitter. A tensing of all his insides, felt like exploding out of him and only to crawl back in defeated. Squeezing his eyes shut in protest as the hospital ceiling weren't very enticing for the torture he was enduring; he turned his head to throw his hearing towards the source to ease drop on the conversation that was clearly about him.

"_Dr. Woods, please. We have to question him as soon as we can."_

"_Well I'm his Doctor and I forbid it until he is stable. So leave."_

The Police were involved? Great…

"It's fine." Mokuba called out. His voice cracked against the dust that settled in his throat, and he in turn tried to push it all away with a cough. He attempted to pull his body upwards to sit against the metal headboard of the hospital bed, but he was only able to tuck his elbows behind him and lift his upper half because he felt his jagged ribs rub together. It was like fingers on a chalkboard, but in his chest. "I'll talk to them."

The olive dark skinned woman that Mokuba stared at in hope which seemed like seconds ago, threw her head into the room to see him awake. Her face flashed this quick annoyance when there was a light shuffle and a throat cleared in the hallway. Detectives that were attempting to barge their way through finally entered the room with her behind them in a white doctor's coat. Mokuba twisted his lips against the heavy pull in his chest, so he began to set himself off his elbows and back down in bed. In this motion of discomfort, her grace formed beside him and within seconds shifted the mattress under him, making it so that he was sitting up without any strain on him.

"Mr. Kaiba, we have some concerning matters about last night and the plane crash you were in."

_Point a gun at my head too while you're at it._ Mokuba rolled his eyes slightly at the impatience with his cynical inner monologue. The doctor at that point stood by Mokuba's bed side with arms crossed, glaring at the detectives.

"Naturally…" Mokuba moaned while he shifted his hips into a position comfortable for both his chest and leg, as his sarcasm on the matter was met with straight faces. Mokuba's clown-like nature furrowed his brow and realized his defense mechanism of poking sarcasm wasn't welcome, so he changed his tone. "What can I help you with?"

"We would like to start with an explanation about how you and your brother, a very well-educated pilot, decided to fly over the Mountains protected by a federal law."

Mokuba shook his head against the accusations and he threw his hands up in defense. "Okay, I don't know what the heck happened. We were flying to Denver. Our plane coordinates and flight records from Domino International show we were flying southeast to Denver and then out of Denver, going straight to New York. That's the honest truth."

The detectives shuffled with their straight faces and Mokuba groaned in dissatisfaction. He was now regretting letting them into his space. They would never understand.

"I'm telling the truth… I don't know how we were magically in Wyoming of all places within seconds. I was watching our GPS. I even spoke to Las Vegas air traffic; we entered their perimeter and were about to enter Nevada."

"Mr. Kaiba-."

"Look!" Mokuba wasn't having it, so he snapped. If they weren't going to listen, he'd make them. "I've seen some really weird fucking shit in my life, right? This one, however, robs me blind. Somehow, our plane went from flying to Denver to being in a mountain range within seconds. I'd also like to point out we were 22,000 feet in the air at that point. So somewhere we went from 22,000 to 9,000 in a split fucking second!" His voice was raising, this was making his lungs fill with a toxicity that made it hard to breathe. "I can't explain what happened… but it happened. I'm sorry." Calming himself almost instantly, instead of giving into the rage of their insolence, Mokuba shrugged in a wince as the kerosene in his bones leaked through and he felt like his skin was melting away. "I don't know what else to say…"

The officers sighed and looked at the doctor, who was reaching down for Mokuba clearly seeing the distress in his eyes but she now held a fury that could murder. "We will check air traffic control at Yellowstone International and Las Vegas to see if this story matches. We will be in touch, Mr. Kaiba. Don't try to leave the state in the mean time."

Slinking away without another word, the detectives left Mokuba to his own devices. Mokuba groaned against the growing pain in his chest and he cursed himself for letting the waves of his emotions slightly drown him in the moment.

"How are you feeling?"

Mokuba heard a voice that hovered in the silent manners. It hit his ear drums with a straining echo, that when he turned, he was back staring into eyes that held dark forests with many secrets.

He got lost in those forests once again but when he noticed he was silent for a second to long, he blinked long before speaking, "Uh, better. Now that I don't have a piece of metal in my leg." He made a joke as the clown inside crawled out again.

"It came out easy too." Her smile was so motherly, it was infectious. Seeing her in the better light of day made her look older than Mokuba initially thought, except it made sense to him. Her energy alone made Mokuba feel the need to smile just to match her. Being a doctor fit her so nicely. "It didn't hit any artery. Not even your bones. You're very lucky."

Mokuba nodded but his face fell with an expression that matched his inner worry. He didn't remember her name. He didn't catch it nor register what it was, and now he was feeling guilty.

"We never had any formal introductions, I am Dr. Woods, but you can call me Serena." It was like she read his mind.

The memories started falling back into place. "I remember hearing your name..."

"I didn't expect you to remember much of anything."

Knowing her name made him sigh in relief. Now, he could address her naturally. The little things of the night were jumbled yet bright in his mind. He could still feel the way the plane collided with the ground and the way his body wanted to retreat in fear of death but had nowhere to go.

Mokuba's thought process paused and he opened his mouth to speak but took a second to recollect. "How's my brother?"

"Good, he was lucky too." Serena shuffled on her feet as she reached beside her into her scrub pants. "I used a hand-held body scanner, that all doctors use now." She flipped the small device between her fingers as she pulled it out of her pocket. In her flipping course, it met with the opposite and Serena opened the mechanism quickly with both hands. It made a light dinging, but she closed it shut just as fast as she opened it. Mokuba deduced it was a nervous tick of hers. "All of him looked…perfectly safe. It's why I left him there…" After looking over the device in wonder, she looked up to Mokuba with her smile still intact. "He'll be sore for a couple of days and might catch up on his words, but I'm happy to say that's the extent of it."

Mokuba stared at the device. He wanted to blush in excitement, but he cleared his throat to break away the thoughts. "My brother invented that…"

Mokuba collected the little memories of two years prior. Only months after Seto returned from far off fantasies, did he invent something with the company's new team of engineers and the revised companies' intention. It was so life-changing that the world praised Seto with the grandeur of a King. Though, Mokuba liked to take credit, since it was his doing after all. Forcing Seto into a new way, only made things so much superior.

"And it's changed the medical field entirely…" Serena laughed as she tucked it away back into her scrub pocket. There was a small moment of quiet before Serena faced Mokuba to speak on another subject. "Tell me, do you know the legends of the mountains?"

"Do you mean the Native Rule?" Mokuba squirmed slightly in bed, as his hips gathered a shock of discomfort that was sent from his knee. Serena only nodded to which Mokuba shook his head in response. "My brother mentioned it… I gathered it was just a law made by natives so they aren't disturbed..."

Serena chuckled, clearly at his ignorance. "That law is to protect people _from _the mountains." Finding the empty armchair beside Mokuba's bed, Serena settled herself quietly into it. She folded her leg over the opposite knee before she continued. "Us Natives believe that the mountains are hands reaching to the heavens. A way for all spirits to roam between the world of the living and the eternal." Serena breathed out repeating a legend that seemed wearisome to her. Mokuba could see her preparing for the ridicule for such fantasies she speaks. "If that is to be interrupted, such as a plane flying over the reaches, we watch time and time again the spirits rip planes from the sky only to throw them into their untimely deaths for disrupting peace."

Mokuba wouldn't ridicule. It wasn't the first time legends interrupted his life and created a whirlwind of bullshit. "That's… pretty fucking brutal…"

"That's why we made the law." Serena beamed through a giggle at his understanding and not having to explain things further. She laced her fingers together and cupped her outer knee. "Too many were dying for not understanding the truth."

Mokuba scowled and his eyebrow flicked into his forehead. "You know… that sounds like it should be public knowledge and not hidden behind a government law."

"The government doesn't like to acknowledge the Native legends nor its religion, so we hide in formalities." Shaking her head, Serena leaned forward and back again, pulling against her knee. Her body rocked in motion before she narrowed her eyes, "Did you hear voices?"

"Voices?"

"Those that have survived the falls over the decades have said they heard voices before the mountain appeared before them. Did you hear them?"

Mokuba was flabbergasted that other people even survived a plane crash, he was still uncertain himself if he survived. Mokuba tilted his head in question, as to rattle the puzzle pieces back into their respected spots. "My brother said he heard voices right before he passed out… right before the mountains appeared…"

Serena used a small amount of time to think on what Mokuba said. When she came to her own conclusions on the matter, she stood from the chair and straightened her doctors coat. "Rest. You need to heal." She then reached into her white jacket pocket and slowly pulled out a cellphone. His cellphone. "This was the only thing in your possession. Your clothes have been bagged since we cut them away."

Mokuba quickly reached like a child wanting candy. That was the best thing he'd seen all day. "Thank you." Serena placed it into his grabbing hands, and as it made contact, he immediately started inspecting his phone. "I think I'm happier now to see this without a scratch on it."

Serena watched with puzzling intent as he turned it on. With his delighted sigh at the wake up tone, Mokuba heard her move and place a hand on the end corner of his bed. "If you need anything, please call."

"Thank you."

"You will be discharged in the next couple of days. I have to watch out for any infection, tetanus shock or so on." Mokuba nodded to her doctorly duties. "Sleep as much as you can."

Mokuba smiled at his phone as she swept away. Then something that had been bothering him hit him in the back of the head with a sledgehammer, so he gasped as he threw his head up to catch her. "Hey, Serena?"

Serena whipped her body towards him as she was making her way for the door. The shock of his call did read on her face. Her lips pierced together in question and her eyes peeled wide in response to his sudden outburst.

"Can I ask you a favor?" His voice fell into tones of a child's.

"Of course." He could tell she was preparing for whatever he had to ask.

Mokuba bit his bottom lip and breathed so deep, it made his lungs buckle without the usual support of intact ribs that created a seething exit. "Can you… not put that _stuff_ back into me?" Serena blinked in curiosity, clearly not understanding what he was insinuating. Having to explain further made his heart leap and he closed his eyes in a long blink. "I have an addictive personality… you know as well as anyone how opiates can effect someone like me." Mokuba chuckled nervously as the embarrassed blush clawed it's way around his eyes and the tip of his nose.

Serena's face made Mokuba hurt. There was regret as well as a deep swallow that subsided her sigh. "Of course. I will make sure you leave with prescription Ibuprofen and ask the nurses to not give you any Morphine."

Mokuba's eyes fell to his phone. He wanted to get away from the situation now. "Thanks…"

Once Serena finally floated away and out of the room, he rubbed his fists over tired eyes. They stung against the dry air that he was confined in. There was a grip against his heart that he had to ignore. He couldn't let the experience of almost dying get to him. He was not about to subject himself to losing his footing on life and fuck up everything he fought to obtain. So he turned to his phone… except what greeted him only made the squeeze in his chest choke him and he mouthed a singular 'Fuck' to what he saw.

_My Love [11:35 PM]: Did you make it to Denver?_

_My Love [1:17 AM]: Where are you?_

_My Love [2:52 AM]: Why didn't you land in JFK ... your flight number isn't on the arrivals?_

_My Love [6:41 AM]: Mokuba, call me._

_My Love [9:33 AM]: Jesus fucking Christ, answer me. You're scaring me…_

5 haunting texts and 6 missed calls from Holland were blowing a terrified void in his head and the ringing a rushing blood to his ears only brought defeat closer. He had to tell the love of his life he almost just _**died**_. She was going to drill him for specific details; not to mention, chew him out for jinxing it when he forced her to say she loved him. He could hear her panic screaming and crying insults already. He was really wishing for an actual grave now and an underground death to hide from her wrath.

Mokuba held his thumb over the call button as he puffed out his cheeks, when his phone chimed.

_Jenny [11:26 AM]: Did you make it to New York okay? I didn't see your airline on the JFK arrivals... Are you stuck in Denver?_

Oh, Jenny. Good, sweet, Jenny.

Mokuba breathed a relieving groan as he chose to call Jenny over Holland – which was a first. He needed all the time in the world to handle Holland's mind-numbing dread and make sure she wasn't crying all by herself. Let alone, the time to process everything perfectly.


	5. a simple phone conversation

Chapter Warning: Swearing

* * *

Outgoing dial tone.

"**Ah!****"** There was a crash like a pan fell into a sink. "I wasn't expecting you to call me so soon. I figured you were in meetings already." Jenny exclaimed as she fumbled with the phone.

"Sorry, Jenny." Mokuba grunted but it turned into a cough.

"Wow, you sound horrible! Was the flight that terrible? I'm glad to hear you're alright, I got worried when I didn't see your flight number at JFK." Jenny was talking a mile a minute and she breathed away a nervous laugh.

There was a long pause before Mokuba spoke. "Yeah… About that…"

Dread was felt through the phone. "… What happened? Are you stuck in Denver? Did you have to have an emergency landing-?"

"The plane crashed, Jen." He cut her off.

Jenny gasped. "No, that's impo-."

"I wish it was…"

"You're messing with me, Mokuba-."

"I'm not, Jen." Mokuba sighed.

"What- How- I don't understand! How does that even happen?"

"A mountain range came out of no where…"

"_Jenny, are you alright?_" Mokuba heard Luis, Jenny's fiancé in the background.

Jenny mumbled inaudibly as Mokuba heard a rustle. "So I- Where did this mountain range come from? You were flying over the desert…!"

"We _were_ flying over the desert. We _were_ going towards Denver. I don't know, suddenly, we were in Wyoming."

"How- How?! Nevada and Wyoming are no where near each other." Jenny spat.

"_Jenny, what is going on?" _Luis was still trying to get Jenny's attention.

"… I don't know. It just happened." Mokuba deflated out of his mouth.

"Are you… are you saying it was magic? Cause that doesn't even make any sense…"

Mokuba choked against her question and groaned like a child.

"Okay, Okay," Jenny was calming her breathing. Mokuba could tell she was pacing. "Okay, so, Alright, um… Are you okay? What about Seto- Oh no, what about Seto?!"

"He's alive, Jenny… we both made it."

"Thank the lord above…" Jenny's sigh was big and Mokuba pictured her crossing her chest in prayer.

"_Jenny?" _Luis sounded close now.

"_They got in a plane crash."_ Jenny whispered, paying attention to Luis.

"_**Jesus Christ!**__**" **_

"Do you need me? I can be there tomorrow – I'll take care of everything." Her attention turned back to Mokuba.

"No, I'm fine… as fine as I can be."

"Do you even have a guardian?"

"Jenny!" Mokuba snapped, mostly to talk over her; also to calm her. "Everything will be alright. I promise, I can take care of myself."

Jenny sighed finally realizing her overbearing emotions were getting the better of her. "I don't like it, but fine. You call me immediately when you need me, I will be right there, I promise."

"Thanks, Jen. I have to go; a nurse is here." He lied.

"Mokuba, I mean it."

"I will call you, Jenny, if I _need_ you. I promise."

"Okay… I love you."

"I love you too…"

Mokuba hung up before Jenny could ask anything else. Mokuba exhaled, he wasn't expecting that. She usually handled situations with level assertiveness; guess he didn't put into factor that a plane crash would cause her to have a heart attack. Mokuba closed his eyes to conjure up the courage before calling Holland and he hit the call button in a moment of 'Fuck it'.

The outgoing tone rang. Not even one tone later.

"Holy fucking shit, you scared me, you fucking dick."

"I'm sorry, Holland." Mokuba felt his body curl into itself. Her voice was what he needed to let the tension leave but hearing the fright in her was heartbreaking.

"Where are you?" Mokuba heard a static of her moving and the bed creak through the phone. "Clearly, you aren't in New York or Colorado."

Mokuba stared up at the ceiling. "Promise to not freak, okay?"

"What the fuck?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"The plane crashed."

Holland inhaled deep but it stopped. "For real?"

"For real."

Holland paused. Two groaning thoughts later. "Are you okay?" Holland was calmer than a clam.

"I'm alive…"

"So, you're not okay… Like, what…?" Holland stuttered on the right thing to say.

"Couple broken ribs. The normal cuts, burns and bruises… Let's not forget the giant piece of metal that gouged itself into my leg." Mokuba whipped out the clown to lighten the blow.

"Oh shit…"

"It, uh, turned out okay? Didn't hit anything crazy. I was lucky."

"What about Seto?"

"Out cold. Just a concussion, though. He passed out before the plane crashed."

"That's insane, people don't usually survive plane crashes…"

"Well, I am going to live until 110. You're stuck with me forever." Mokuba poked again with his clown as it crawled out tiredly in a wavering laugh. Holland was working her magic on him even under the circumstances.

Holland snorted. "So, what happened?"

Mokuba's mood turned and he moaned. "You're not going to believe me, no one is so far."

"Try me."

"We were flying through Nevada, right? I talked to Vegas air traffic."

Holland made a light hum in answer.

"The moment we were about to enter Utah – BAM! - a mountain range came out of no where and we were in Wyoming."

There was silence. Mokuba could see Holland mouthing words in wonder and eyebrows furrowed in his mind. "Isn't Wyomying north?"

"Yep."

"Huh…"

"You believe me?"

"No, that's fucking wack… but you're alive, that's all I care about."

"Thanks…" Mokuba wanted to fall over onto the floor. "You know… I was expecting you to be freaking out and screaming and crying…"

"Excuse me?!" Holland screamed as he heard her lower her body so she was lying down, "Have we not been dating for 2 years? Do you know nothing about me? Unless it's… _you know what_… I don't do that." Holland's blatant distaste towards the messy court dates and indictments made Mokuba scowl.

"I just thought… the whole plane crash thing…"

"That's you, Mokuba. That's what _you_ would do. _You _would be the one flipping out and then silently brooding in a corner."

"The thought of me almost dying doesn't bring you distress?"

"You dying _would_ bring me distress. You're alive, so no."

"You don't love me." Mokuba pouted.

Mokuba could hear the eyeroll through the phone. "You want me to lose my mind?"

"Yes."

"Oh my gosh, my love! What will I do?!" Holland's sarcastic retort made Mokuba snicker. "I can't do it… no more. Being emotional sucks."

Mokuba blushed and he slunk into bed. "I love you."

"I love you too… Are you sure you're alright though? Without Seto, you don't have anyone there, do you?"

"No… not really." Mokuba groused against the pain in his leg as he tried to get comfortable.

"Did you call Jenny?"

"No, nuh-uh. No way." Mokuba shook his head violently.

"What do you mean, no?"

"Jenny acted exactly how I assumed you would have! She's in full on panic mode. She'd only freak out and yell at everyone and be bossy and call people terrible things in Spanish." Mokuba groaned and Holland snickered. "You come be with me."

"I'm a minor too. I can't do anything."

"No, but you'll be with me… and that's really all I want right now."

Holland breathed out quickly in response, clearly shaking her head at his clinginess but also enjoying it.

Mokuba rolled this voice in his throat tiredly. "Oh… They gave me morphine."

"Oh my god, you told them to stop, right?" Holland whispered harshly. Mokuba heard her shoot back up straight in bed, as her obvious fear of the drug came through.

"Yeah."

"Okay good… I don't need to lose you too…"

"You won't, that's why I said I didn't want anymore and gave them the 'addictive personality' excuse. I'm already a flight risk as it is…" Mokuba couldn't help but seethe through his teeth as he felt the muscle in his leg part underneath the stitches.

Holland whined a pout that felt back for him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine… I've been through worse, honestly." Mokuba sighed when he finally found a position that worked for his leg. "I just want to sleep… I'm exhausted."

"I'll let you go then, sleep." Holland's voice fell into tones of soft and coy.

"No! Don't hang up… Stay with me."

"Okay…"

Mokuba tucked the phone under his ear between the pillow and his head, after he crossed his arms over his chest for comfort. "Can you answer a question for me?"

"Sure."

"What are you wearing?"

"You can't be serious!?" Mokuba could hear the blush flood her cheeks.

"Please~?" Mokuba rolled his tongue like a child begging.

Holland scoffed and there was a rush of air as she fell backwards in bed again. "It's Saturday, so what do you think?"

Mokuba closed his eyes, thinking of the countless times he's invaded her maroon bedroom and its black furniture. "Mmmmmm… definitely shorts. You hate pants."

Holland giggled indicating he was right.

"Unless you aren't at all, cause that's also a possibility."

"Stop."

"Fine~… socks - can't catch you in bed without them."

"Correct." Mokuba heard a laugh and a possible raise of her feet in the air.

Mokuba could feel the sleep singing in the back of his head as he conjured a scene of her in his mind. "Now, I'm stuck on the shirt. It's either mine or a tank."

Holland's titter was so cute it made Mokuba smile. "Take a shot in the dark, it's an old one."

Mokuba wailed in protest.

"You were _surprised_ I fit in it."

"STOP IT! It's not my old blue and white, stripped, long sleeve shirt?"

"Mhm!"

Mokuba's memories of practically living in that shirt while he was young made his belly fill with delight. Puffs of amusement slipped out as he remembered Holland putting it on for the first time, but it fit her like a crop top with her long torso. "You cut that into a crop top, right?"

"Yeah... I need to sew the hem, it's fraying on the bottom."

"Mmm." The grumble Mokuba let go in response made sleep bang through into his eyelids and the blanket of soft darkness beckoned so nicely.

"I passed my quiz, by the way."

"Mmm."

"I don't understand why I need to know every little detail about the ecosystems, but here we are."

"…We're supposed to care about the environment… we live in California…"

"I do care, but I want to be a lawyer, not a marine biologist."

"Mmm."

There was a tender moment of silence. Holland flipped in bed onto her stomach and the bed spoke again in a squeak. Tucking her elbow beneath her for support, she held her chin, gazing at her sleeping Pit Bull that slept soundly at the foot of the bed. "If you can't get to New York, what are you going to do about the branch not meeting its quota?"

"Mmm."

"Mokuba?"

There was nothing but a smack of the lips.

"Babe?"

Her baby was asleep at last. She heard him breathe deep in that silent snore she knew way to well. Holland waited, listening to him sleep, a smile tugging at her corners.

"Sleep well, my bug."

**Click**.


	6. Take a Stand and Tumble Down

_**Chapter Warning**__: Swearing_

* * *

Two days later in time, Mokuba was finally released from the hospital. During the time he slept and bugged Holland on the phone, Mary and George had decided to visit him. Like Serena, the two were so different in daylight, he hardly recognized them. However, it was easy to figure it out once Mary peered her head into the room and called him "Dearling." The older couple finally gave their formal introductions as well as their hospitality. Both retired, it turned out that George was a Airforce Captain turned farmer and Mary was once a nurse that helped with the Native rallies in Kansas. It was like the will of some entity threw the two of them in Mokuba's lap, which he was eternally grateful for. With Seto still at the house, they invited Mokuba to stay with them until they both recovered. George put emphasis on the fact the Police wouldn't let them out of the State, so George was adamant on Mokuba recovering while under their roof.

Mokuba was beside himself over the Western Welcome, it was some of the most genuine kindness he received in his whole current lifetime. He didn't have his wallet, nor his license, nor a credit card – so trying to find a hotel to stay in would be impossible. They were locked away within a compartment in the carnage. Not to mention, he was 16. No hotel would let him check in, regardless of his status or bank account balance. He really hated being a "minor." He wasn't a minor in the slightest, but the world treated him like one.

Moving about instead of being bed ridden was pretty difficult, but once Mokuba was checked out from the Hospital with Koda's assistance and by the good graces of Serena, Wyoming began working this unknown magic. He remained silent the entire ride to the country home he crashed a plane beside, awestruck by the skyline and its interrupting structures. Life practically leaked out of the earth. Every landscape showed him a new view which grew an intense need in his stomach. He wanted to beg Koda to stop the truck just to stand still and ponder the ins of the world with all its wonders. Bison littered the fields around them and simple notches of pine trees scattered the road they drove. Such pines utterly regal in their dense, untouched, protection - Mokuba was terrified only nights before, but now he was left breathless by the mere size they stood. That single drive created a headspace for him that silently explained why so many people wanted to protect this land from the outside world, and he couldn't blame them.

"You're one strong dude..." Mokuba uttered in amazement with a lowered voice. Koda carried him like a princess into the standalone farmhouse he was going to be confined in for the next week or so. The white farmhouse looked like it was picked up from the New England countryside and chucked into the middle of Wyoming's open fields, only to hold a view on the outside that would make any California Earth Dope drool.

Koda blinked as he side-stepped through the front door. "I have never been called a 'strong dude' before..." Koda was much more of a bear in day light. A large, broad, cuddly bear. Carrying Mokuba was no feat for him. How the night did him no justice.

"Oh, don't act so surprised, Koda." Mary's giggles filled the living room. Mokuba caught Mary cleaning her hands on a dish towel, underneath one of the double archways beyond the living room. Her face held an older happiness with a sinister eye agreeing to the statement.

"The police gave no trouble with him leaving?" George stood outside on the porch near the door with arms crossed. His foot held open the screen door so it wouldn't snap closed and hit Koda in the process of entering the home. A wheelchair the hospital generously lent to Mokuba for the remainder of his forced stay, sat behind George folded up.

"None." Koda maneuvered himself through the living room, between white rustic furniture, around the wall centered fireplace and through the set of couches that squared in the room. It was homey, but also crowded. To be expected for such a home in an atmosphere such as the one it was center of. The scent of the house hit with a musty sandalwood and rose. Mokuba believed it to be the signature scent that leaked through the floorboards and wafted off the walls, but it could have also been the lit candle on the coffee table. Koda gently placed Mokuba down on the 3-person centered couch with an exhaling grunt and soft ease. "They might be too busy trying to fish for answers that they will not find."

Scurrying his hips while placing his leg out flat on the couch, Mokuba seethed in annoyance at both the reality and the pain that leaked a subtle constant burn. "I'm telling the truth..."

"We believe you... but those not exposed to Western traditions - do not." Koda towered over Mokuba watching the boy intently. Mokuba instinctively shrugged into his ears, while he used his hands to lift himself off the couch to find a better position for his backside. As he struggled to find something comfortable, Koda then jumped to the opportunity to arrange the things around him, just the way Mokuba needed. A ruffled pillow here. A stiff pillow there. Once Mokuba sighed in relief with his spine that shivered from the content position, Koda stood straight with a smile.

That was when Mary came up behind Koda and tapped his back in an encouraging motion. "I'll take care of him."

"Thank you, Mary." Koda smiled gently at her as he rubbed his hands together in a preparing motion which could have been considered a release of any pent-up uneasiness he had over the situation. Koda turned for the front door as George pushed the wheelchair into the house, screen door slamming against the door frame once it was free. "Serena will be here after work to check up on the other one."

"My brother-!" Mokuba jolted up out of his comfort but an inhale of deep pain far reached inside his core, freezing his bones.

"Is fine." Mary settled herself in the loveseat beside him.

Seething with a shaking breath and glaring at his leg, Mokuba caught Mary giving him a reassuring smile, one he needed to see. Giving in to the situation, there was a deep sigh and release of pent up frustration as Mokuba shook his head. Koda stood near the door as George scaled the floor with his tired steps, "I am sure the police will be around soon," Koda huffed with a sad smile. "Try not to flee the state, Mr. Kaiba."

With another slam of the screen door, Koda left the three alone in the farmhouse. There was a certain air that hummed around the fireplace and leaked from the corners of the old house. Mokuba listened to it in silence, before he was disrupted by a shuffle beside him.

"You can stay here as long as you'd like." Mary straightened her button up shirt that began to slightly wrinkle in her sitting position after she stood. Mokuba did not see it, but he could feel the smile down on him, right before she turned for the kitchen without another word.

Mokuba groaned in both annoyance and defeat. He was confined to the house for the next, god knows when. His brother is nowhere to be found and he was completely defenseless. He stared down at the cavernous slash, covered with white mesh that hugged his leg firmly. He wished fire could come out of his eyes and burn it out of existence. So stupid, he couldn't flee the state if he fucking wanted too.

George then rounded the couches himself, moving through the standalone armchairs and large marble coffee table that filled the space in the center. Holding his arms behind him, his older shoulders hardly held any posture all for the life of a farmer. "I'm sorry, boy." The way George began scared Mokuba premature, but he was so far off in his own wallows he didn't even notice George grow closer. The beginning of an apology made Mokuba hold his breath, as George shook against the thoughts of breaking someone's heart. "I tried my best to find your belongings..."

He wasn't going to like what he was going to hear, so Mokuba closed his eyes to shut off one sensory detail to lighten the blow. "Did you find anything?"

"I found the carry-ons you said you had tucked away in a side compartment..." As George spoke, Mokuba melted into the couch just hearing that. His wallet was back in his hands. However, he could feel the catch coming, so he opened his eyes to catch George walking away. "Two suitcases and this..."

Just as George formed into the kitchen, he waddled back into the living room with the side gait. What was in his hands shattered a boy's heart.

"NO! Not that!"

**Mokuba's guitar was ruined.**

He reached for it like a broken child, hoping it would form back to one piece. A childish dream, but George handed it to him once he sauntered through the couches once again.

Regardless of any pain it would cause, Mokuba pulled the guitar in his lap, strangling its remains into his gut. "My girlfriend got this for me..." He ran a hand over the tattered case, "She got it from fucking Kim Thayil..." That running hand then hit one of the side buckles, to which he attempted to open it but the seam wouldn't budge open.

"I had a feeling it was of importance..." George sighed like older men do. "Try to relax... don't want to make matters worse now."

George left him alone at that point. Once George disappeared into the kitchen, Mokuba clutched onto the guitar case until his knuckles went white. He could feel the tears tugging at his cheeks, and a bubbling sensation in his throat which made a small sobbing sigh roll out without any trouble. The pain in his leg was not a matter of concern at this point. He forced his entire body to open the case with its dwindling strength. He worked on it as much as he could force upon, when there was a snap in the air and the cover practically threw itself open.

"Fuck..." It pained him so. He ran a hand over the red stained wood, as he trembled at the sight of his beloved guitar smashed into pieces. "I'm so sorry..."

"Who is Kim Thayil?" A soft, straining voice came from behind Mokuba and he turned his upper body to meet eyes with the blond girl he remembered seeing in the flashing darkness of a battered plane. Except, she wasn't a girl. She was indeed a woman - her whispering voice was astronomically deceiving.

Mokuba took a sleeve of his hospital sweatshirt to his cheeks while hiding his face, averting his eyes. If she couldn't see his face, she couldn't see him about to cry. "The lead guitarist of Soundgarden..."

She stopped in her tracks; her eyes widen. The sudden silence with no response made Mokuba scan his eyes back into pale green. Her shock wasn't what unsettled his stomach and fluttered butterflies in his lungs. It was the infinite emptiness that echoed within caverns those eyes hid behind the first layer of sadness.

"Black Hole Sun, Soundgarden?" She spoke once again and it withered like a whisper.

"Yeah, exactly..." Mokuba instinctively leaned towards her to listen closely to the tone her voice failed to sing.

Amidst his focus, she skipped into his space. Her air blended into the pale blue living room and she sat in the loveseat closest to his side.

"How did you get your hands on that?" Her face being much closer to Mokuba made him study her; he could read her like a book. Her face did no justice hiding her emotions. The wonderment read through her nose which flared in question and eyes danced along the wreckage of the guitar.

"Uh... my girlfriend's stepdad is a music producer... he knows people." Mokuba was left breathless in her space. He felt the need to whisper, just to match her.

She silently hung her head and made a face that meant she was feeling sorry for his guitar. "Well..." Her voice was so soft, Mokuba had to strain his ears to hear it and tell his mind to shut up. Hardly hearing her speak, he could still hear the struggle in her. It sounded like it was hard for her to talk, let alone breathe. "It's no guitar from Kim Thayil... but there's a wonderful instrument maker in Cody..." Her sad eyes met his again and it made her eyes brim over with a subtle bliss. "He uses wood from the trees in the mountains. Maybe he can make something for you?"

Mokuba looked down at his guitar. Nothing could ever top a gift acoustic guitar from Kim fucking Thayil. Dwelling on it though, would just make him sadder. "Maybe, sure..." He forced an outwards breath imitating as a lazy laugh trying make light of the situation.

She beamed brighter. It was so kind it made Mokuba smile back just the same. "When you can walk again, of course."

Mokuba nodded and he attempted to close the bent guitar case but it wouldn't budge. Instead he looked back at her, while she settled herself gently into the love seat. Her air was something new, but was also familiar in sense. It was sad but full of light underneath all the wallowing cries. Her presence reminded him slightly of his best friend, Caitlin. Cait's constant worry and over thinking wore at her, so much so that the presence around her became as confused as she. Yet, even past the absent mind, there was a gorgeous light about it, that would make anyone smile. Whether it was in pity or in love. It was still so much sadder and kind of made Mokuba choke on his own thoughts. Once the blond had settled, she turned to him, finding him stare deep into his own mind of thought. Once Mokuba had noticed she caught him gawking, Mokuba blushed but regained a natural eye contact.

"I'm Claire." Claire introduced herself with poise as she laced her fingers together and cupped her hands over a knee.

Mokuba was taken back but kept his gaze. He sensed behind that soft demeanor that turned him a fool, a woman that was a lot more than she let off. "Mokuba."

"It's nice to meet you, Mokuba." Her reaction was a genuine glow and Mokuba in response felt a warmth in him.

"It's nice to meet you as well."

Claire then shuffled in the spot she was sitting. She leaned against the arm rest with her hands and she entered his space more than before. Claire's cheeks puffed out and a pout followed her contemplation. Mokuba was taken aback at how subtly cute it was. "Is your brother as scary as everyone makes him out to be?"

Mokuba sat quiet for a moment, feeling her soft eyes on him while he made facial expressions to match the amusing quizzical look she held. "Not anymore." Mokuba shifted his body downwards, searching for a comfortable lying position on the couch. He laughed as he did also moan against the tension in his leg. "He still comes off like a douche, but... he's not the man the news makes him out to be."

She nodded and pierced her lips. "Yeah, I figured..." She then curved the corner of her mouth in an upwards grimace, "He mutters your name a lot in his sleep..."

"He's been out this whole time?" She nodded to his question just as it ended.

That was concerning to hear.

"He's should wake up soon." She sounded really sure of that, even though Mokuba was starting to give in to the menacing thought that Seto wouldn't.

"Speaking of the sleepy head..." Mary interrupted their space with her presence. She formed into the living room, causing them both to look towards her. "Can you go check on him, sugar?"

Claire perked up and stood quickly. "Yeah, sure.


	7. You'll never get to be the man you want

_**Chapter Warning: **__None!_

* * *

Claire walked gently through the backyard, past the clothing lines, opposite of the gardens towards a small red house in the back, tucked away under a patch of pine trees. This little renovated hut acted as a hole for the guests that traveled far and needed to spend the night; also held the sleeping man Claire promised to check on. It was a few yards away from the back porch but also far enough to feel completely alone in the soft western fields. The summer sun was setting on the mountains. The light streaked into the plains below, casting dark shadows where light could not reach, but creating a path of shimmer gold, where it could.

Upon coming to the door of this small red house, Claire opened the door as if entering her own home. She enjoyed sitting in this small home alone on the nights the crickets sung in the tall grasses and the frogs of the strong river were so loud, you couldn't hear your thoughts. It was dark in this small space. Turning on the lights, the warm light revealed a small corridor with three doors. Two of those doors were bedrooms. One was a bathroom. Claire took off her boots, that weren't even tied to her feet, and hummed her way to the left door.

Once that door was open, lying in the soft darkness that was slowly receding into the corners of the room as the sun disappeared behind the giants of the earth, was a man – breathing gently in his sleep. Since he had been there, Claire had visited him frequently to check to see if he had awaken or just to make sure he was stable. As Claire became aware of the shadows that danced along the floor and waited patiently for the light to leave, so they could have their take in this empty space, Claire reached for a bed side lamp sitting as a beacon. Turning it on, the red light shinned enough to shush away the waiting shadows and give enough for the eyes to be happy.

Claire's eyes were indeed happy. The man, lying so peacefully made her smile. He was madly handsome in her eyes. She liked to watch him for a little. Watch the way his forehead twitched through his eyebrows or the soft movement in his fingers indicating the dreams were creating some world he was living in for the while. It made her smile jump around when he muttered the same name he's been calling for. Knowing that it was his brother, made wanting to understand his mind more enticing. If he wasn't how the news portrays him to be, but still had an attitude, did that make him a softie with a hard exterior. An egg?

Claire laughed at the thought of a man being an egg. The men she was used to were rough through and through or well-rounded men with beautiful smiles. So far Mokuba was a well-rounded boy with a beautiful smile. Maybe it could be said the same for the man that laid in that bed?

Claire sat on the side of the bed and watched him breathe. No staggers, he wasn't having any trouble. She wondered what that felt like. Being able to breath on a whim. Not struggling against yourself to fill your lungs with enough air to stand straight. She wondered what healthy lungs felt like as she watched his chest rise and fall. Were they not heavy at times? Were they not trying to kill you? Were they not useless? Were they filled with a power that could fuel a voice with the loudest scream when the emotion rose?

Claire took a deep breath trying to imitate what she saw, but her throat got locked up in a foreign chamber, making her cough. It was a light cough, but it was all the same of suffocating. It made her hunch over as the air she tried to give to herself, was immediately let back out. It felt as if her lungs were stabbed flat and blocked away her chances of breathing again. But in response to the cough, Claire breathed back in with a fist to her mouth and she was able to breathe again.

She cursed herself to think what it would be like if she didn't have to choke all the time. It was a sad fault. It was probably really nice, but nothing she'll ever have.

Regaining her composure, Claire cleared her throat, to push away anything else that wanted to force her airways shut. Biting down on her lip, she threw her hands together and threw them to her chest, pushing against her cages. Against her thoughts, the pressure of her fists gave her a little more to think on. Claire did take a breath as deep as she could and this time - she didn't fail at it.

However, as she stared off into one of the darker corners, that held those little whispers of darkness. The man beside her stirred.

"Mokuba…" He called out yet again.

Claire turned to him and she bent over to check on him. His eyes were open, but was it false again? Was he falling in and out of consciousness?

Claire took a hand away from her chest and decided to dust away the strands of hair that clung to his forehead. "Your brother is safe, I promise."

She didn't know if it was her voice or the touch of her fingertips on his skin. But he jerked to the side, somewhat like a scared child clinging to their mother because the monsters under the bed were going to get them. Claire in the moment, flinched and moved to catch him. Which in the end, caused his arms to wrap around her waist as his head cradled in her arms. It was her first instinct to feel onset shock. It was her second instinct to hold him close and shush him. It took her a few calming hushes to realize that the man was asleep again as his whole body became as heavy as lead, causing her to curse herself now that he was practically lying in her lap.

She tried her best to not drop the man. She tried her best to make the position more comfortable and maybe a little better for her to slip out of soon. As she tried her best to get her arms to slither behind him and hold him back as his head lay soundly on the inside of her elbow. Finally, when he was in a much better position, Claire sighed in reprieve. It was then, Claire looked down at him with wonder in her eyes. She saw this man closer and it made the tip of her nose red. He was so pretty to look at. What wasn't pretty was the large gash behind his ear that kept in all directions. She pondered if that was the source of the delirium. Tilting her head, she clicked her tongue in response to reaction her body gave. Her body internally retreated from the sight of the excess blood and bloody staples. Her imagination made her gut hurdle forward as she wondered how hard someone's head had to smack to get something like that.

Claire closed her eyes to forget the thoughts that abruptly filled her. After a couple of sullen defeats in her mind, Seto took a deep breath in her arms and it reminded her that she needed put him back down on the bed.

Claire moved as carefully as she could, succeeding where she believed she could. As quickly as he threw himself at her, Claire had him back on the bed. Except, when Claire freed her hands, she ran her fingers over his forehead once more and down to the tops of his cheek.

A face like that shouldn't be mean.


End file.
